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 were mostly steady on Thursday, with traders holding back after a drop earlier this week on a stronger U.S. dollar and concerns about rising supply amid slowing demand growth. Brent crude futures were down 3 cents at $72.25 a barrel by 0937 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 7 cents at $68.36. "The main driver of oil prices, both in the short term and going forward, is the direction of the U.S. dollar," said Danish Lim, investment analyst at Phillip Nova. The dollar's recent rise has been the main downward pressure, said Lim, who expects the oil market to...
Gold slipped for a fifth day as a surge in the dollar weighed on the metal, even as US inflation data supported the case for another Federal Reserve rate cut next month. Bullion dropped 1% in early London trading. A gauge of the dollar is at a two-year high on expectations that President-elect Donald Trump's win will boost economic growth and corporate profits. A stronger greenback makes commodities priced in the currency more expensive for most buyers. Wednesday's US consumer price data fell, in line with expectations on a headline basis, although the annualized three-month...
Silver price (XAG/USD) extends its losses to two-month lows, trading around $29.90 per troy ounce during the European hours on Thursday. This downside of the safe-haven Silver is attributed to improving risk sentiment since Donald Trump's election victory last week. The US Dollar (USD), equities, and cryptocurrencies are advancing as markets anticipate strong growth and higher inflation under the incoming Trump administration. The proposed policies could drive increased investment, spending, and labor demand, raising inflation risks. The dollar-denominated Silver faces challenges due to...
This week's price action has given us a glimpse of what's to come in the forex market in Trump's second term, with a brief dollar correction being taken as an opportunity to enter structural USD long positions at more attractive levels, notes ING forex analyst Francesco Pesole. "While our view is that the dollar will remain strong through next year, the near-term picture is still a bit more nuanced as long-term dollar positioning is starting to look quite stretched and a broader (albeit short-lived) dollar correction could be on the cards. One catalyst could be today's PPI print, which has...
Silver prices fell near $30 an ounce on Thursday, nearing a two-month low as risk sentiment and a stronger dollar diverted investor interest from the precious metal. Equities, cryptocurrencies and the dollar have rallied since Donald Trump's election victory last week, as markets bet on strong growth and higher inflation under the new administration. Meanwhile, the latest U.S. inflation figures met expectations, with little impact on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook. In China, investors were disappointed by Beijing's latest support measures to stabilize the economy, although...