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...
Oil prices edged higher on Friday, on track for a weekly gain of more than 4%, as the Ukraine war escalated, with Russian President Vladimir Putin warning of a global conflict. Brent crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $74.40 a barrel by 0722 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $70.30 a barrel. Both contracts jumped 2% on Thursday and were set to close the week up more than 4%, their strongest performance since late September, as Moscow escalated its attacks on Ukraine after Britain and the United States allowed Kyiv to attack Russia with their...
Gold prices were headed for their best week in a year on Friday, supported by safe-haven demand amid further escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war, while investors assessed the outlook for U.S. interest rate cuts. Spot gold rose 0.7% to $2,688.70 per ounce as of 0306 GMT. Bullion was up nearly 5% for the week so far, its best week since early October 2023. U.S. gold futures gained 0.6% to $2,691.00. Meanwhile, the Chicago Federal Reserve President on Thursday reiterated his support for further U.S. interest rate cuts and his openness to slowing them down. Markets are pricing in a 55.9%...
Oil prices rose on Friday after Russia said it had fired a ballistic missile at Ukraine and warned of a broadening conflict, raising the prospect of tightening crude supplies. Brent crude futures gained 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $74.37 a barrel by 0007 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $70.27 per barrel. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the Ukraine war was growing into a global conflict after the U.S. and Britain allowed Ukraine to strike Russia with their weapons. Putin, who said Russia responded to the use of U.S. andBritish...
The Japanese yen held around 154.3 per dollar on Friday after gaining some ground in the previous session, as investors digested the latest economic releases. Data showed that Japan's headline inflation rate slowed to a nine-month low of 2.3% in October, while the core inflation rate also dropped to 2.3%, a six-month low, slightly above the forecast of 2.2%. A separate report indicated that manufacturing activity in Japan contracted more than expected in November, although services activity expanded. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda signaled the possibility of another rate hike...
Gold consolidates in the early Asian session amid mixed signals. On the one hand, escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has boosted demand from investors seeking safe-haven assets, ANZ Research analysts say in a note. On Thursday, Russian President Putin said Russia had used a new type of missile, called Oreshnik, to strike a major Ukrainian defense plant. On the other hand, gold has given up some of its gains after U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly fell, raising worries over a slower Fed rate-cut cycle, the analysts add. Spot gold is little changed at $2,670.08/oz. Source: Marketwatch