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...
Gold has eased below $3,950 an ounce after Fed Chair Powell warned a December cut is not a foregone conclusion, knocking market odds for another 25bp move and lifting the 10-year Treasury above 4%, which raises the financing cost of holding non-yielding bullion. That caution partly offsets the Fed's 25bp reduction to a 3.75–4.00% target range and its decision to end balance sheet runoff in December, both of which trim real short rates and add liquidity that normally support precious metals. Official buying by central banks and renewed ETF accumulation have tightened available metal in...
The US dollar moved steadily, tending to strengthen slightly on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, after briefly touching its weakest level in about a week. The dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback's strength against six major currencies, was in the 98-99 range, up around 0.2%. This slight gain occurred ahead of the Fed's policy decision, which will almost certainly cut the benchmark interest rate by another 25 basis points. The market has essentially priced in the Fed's rate cut today and possibly another at its December meeting. This means that investors are now focusing more on the...
Silver (XAG/USD) strengthened on Wednesday (October 29th), rising 2.50% for the day and trading around $48.25 per ounce at the time of writing. The gray metal benefited from renewed interest in safe-haven assets as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy announcement, while geopolitical tensions and fiscal uncertainty in the United States (US) maintained a favorable backdrop for precious metals. Silver's rebound followed Gold's (XAU/USD) rally back above the symbolic $4,000 level, supported by expectations of a dovish Fed stance. Market participants...
Oil prices were steady on Wednesday (October 29th) as investors weighed optimism over a meeting between the leaders of major consumers, the US and China, against expectations of an increase in production quotas from the next OPEC+ meeting. Brent crude rose 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $64.51 a barrel at 10:20 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $60.21. China's Foreign Ministry said Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with US President Donald Trump on Thursday in the South Korean city of Busan. The ministry said the meeting would "inject new momentum into the...
Gold rebounded more than 1% on Wednesday (October 29th) as investors found the precious metal attractive after prices fell to a three-week low in the previous session, while the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut decision and Chairman Jerome Powell's speech were the main highlights. Spot gold rose 1% to $3,991.59 an ounce, as of 07:48 GMT, after falling to its lowest level since October 6 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.6% to $4,005.60 an ounce. "Bargain hunting could be (supportive) because it has lost a little over 10% of its value, which makes it attractive...