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...
Front-month gold futures close the day up 0.1% to $2,620.30 an ounce, quickly turning around after the contract posted its largest decline in four years on news of a potential ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. President-elect Trump's plans for new tariffs are throwing a wrench into thoughts around future interest rate cuts, which could keep rates higher for longer. "These factors may keep these gains fragile," says Samer Hasn of XS.com in a note. SPDR Gold shares are down 0.1% in afternoon trading. Source: Marketwatch
Oil prices rose on Tuesday after falling more than $2 a barrel in the previous session as investors took stock of a potential ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, which had weighed on oil's risk premium. Brent crude futures were up 73 cents, or 1%, to $73.74 a barrel as of 1018 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $69.62 a barrel, up 68 cents, also 1%. Prices fell sharply on Monday after multiple reports that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to the terms of a deal to end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. A senior Israeli official said Israel looks set to approve a...
Gold futures rise, recouping some ground after a 3.7% drop on Monday. Futures are up 0.4% at $2,629.70 a troy ounce. The precious metal remains under pressure on renewed risk appetite in financial markets, says ActivTrades' Ricardo Evangelista. Trump's nomination of Scott Bessent, viewed as a balanced choice for U.S. Treasury Secretary, has eased fears that a second Trump administration's tariff-heavy policies could reignite inflation and stifle economic growth, Evangelista says in a note. Reports of a potential ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah have also reduced safe-haven...
Gold steadied after declining earlier as Donald Trump's threat of 25% import tariffs on Canada and Mexico buoyed the dollar. The US president-elect said the import taxes were necessary to clamp down on migrants and illegal drugs crossing America's borders. He also vowed to impose additional 10% tariffs on goods from China. The subsequent strengthening of the dollar made gold more expensive for many buyers. Bullion traded near $2,630 an ounce after slumping 3.4% in the previous session amid a potential easing of tensions in the Middle East. Israel's security cabinet is...
Gold price (XAU/USD) struggles to capitalize on its intraday bounce from the $2,600 neighborhood, or over a one-week low and remains depressed for the second successive day heading into the European session on Tuesday. US President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threat drove some haven flows and provided a modest intraday lift to the safe-haven precious metal. That said, expectations for a less dovish Federal Reserve (Fed) caps the upside for the non-yielding yellow metal. Meanwhile, the growing market conviction that Trump's expansionary policies will reignite inflation and force the Fed to...