The Hang Seng Index reversed its downward trend in Hong Kong on Thursday (February 12th), weakening by around 0.9% to around 27,000 after a strong session earlier. This decline halted the momentum of the short term rally, as investors began to reduce risk in large cap stocks. Among the index's contributors, Tencent was a major drag, with its shares falling by around 2.3%, putting pressure on the technology sector, which has recently been a driving force behind market gains. Weakness in large cap companies like this typically quickly impacts sentiment due to their significant weighting in...
Silver prices rose about 3.5% to over $53 an ounce on Wednesday, their highest level in nearly three weeks, supported by growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates this year. Optimism over the imminent end of the US government shutdown, which will allow for the release of new economic data, also fueled this speculation. The market currently rates the chance of a 25-bps Fed rate cut in December at about 65%, up from about 62% the day before. Meanwhile, supply pressures are expected to persist, with demand likely to increase amid the start of the Indian...
Gold strengthened as traders weighed the imminent end of the U.S. government shutdown and the outlook for the Fed's interest rate direction. U.S. House members returned to Washington on Wednesday to vote on ending the 43-day government shutdown. The legislation, a compromise forged in the Senate and approved by President Donald Trump, would reopen the federal government and fund some agencies, but does not include an extension of the enhanced Obamacare premium tax credit. Treasury yields eased slightly and the U.S. dollar pared its gains. This helped lift bullion by up to 1.5%, as lower...
Oil prices plunged the most in a month as key market indicators pointed to weakness and OPEC said global crude supply was outpacing demand faster than anticipated. West Texas Intermediate crude fell more than 3%, erasing three sessions of gains. The US benchmark's near-term futures briefly traded in a so-called bearish contango structure—meaning oil prices are currently cheaper than contracts for delivery further out—for the first time since February, a new sign of a long-anticipated oversupply. OPEC revised its estimate for the global oil market to a surplus in the third quarter from a...
The US currency remained near a five-month high after US employment data posted a surprising increase, with private sector employment increasing by about 42,000 in October, exceeding economists' expectations of 28,000. This increase reinforces the market's belief that the Federal Reserve (the Fed) will pause or delay its monetary policy stance, making the dollar attractive relative to other currencies. However, the dollar is not completely unhindered. US consumer sentiment fell to a three-year low due to the prolonged government shutdown and concerns about a weakening labor market. This...
Gold (XAU/USD) trades little changed on Wednesday, consolidating gains near a three-week high as investors adopt a wait-and-see approach ahead of a crucial US congressional vote to end the record-long government shutdown. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $4,130, with market participants staying on the sidelines amid subdued risk appetite. The US House of Representatives is set to vote later on Wednesday on a stopgap funding bill aimed at reopening the government and ending the record-long shutdown. The proposal would keep most federal agencies funded through January 30,...