The Hang Seng rose 192 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 26,160 on Friday, extending gains from the prior session. The increase came after Shanghai shares hit a 10-year peak, on strong inflows and China's pledge at the conclusion of a plenum to boost the household consumption's share in GDP over the next five years. Policymakers also reaffirmed their commitment to meet 2025 economic targets and support tech self-reliance. Gains were broad-based, led by tech, consumer, and property stocks. SMIC jumped 7.4%, followed by Horizon Robotics (6.1%), China Hongqiao Group (4.1%), and Trip.com...
The GBP/USD pair showed significant movement. After dropping to a two-week low below 1.3400 on Friday, August 22, 2025, it rallied again as the US dollar weakened following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium. Powell's dovish remarks, indicating the possibility of an interest rate cut, drove a sharp decline in the US dollar, giving the pound sterling room to strengthen again. External factors, such as President Trump's tariff policies, also influenced GBP/USD movements. Aggressive tariff policies can increase global economic uncertainty, which in...
The US dollar (USD) weakened against most major currencies in Friday trading, following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the annual Jackson Hole forum. Powell's dovish tone further strengthened market confidence that the central bank would soon ease monetary policy, with the odds of an interest rate cut in September now approaching 90%. Powell Signals Easing In his speech, Powell acknowledged that the US labor market is currently showing significant signs of weakness. He described this condition as a "strange balance" because the decline is occurring on both the supply...
EUR/USD skyrockets during the North American session after Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell leaned dovish at his Jackson Hole speech, opening the door for a resumption of the easing cycle. The pair trades at 1.1718, up by 0.97%. Market participants began to price in a Fed rate cut in September as the Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that "The stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance." He added that there's a "reasonable base case" to think that tariffs would create a "one-time"...
Oil prices steadied on Friday amid uncertainty surrounding a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, with prices gaining on the week for the first time in three weeks. Brent crude futures settled up 6 cents or 0.09% to $67.73. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled up 14 cents or 0.22% to $63.66. Both contracts gained more than 1% in the previous session. Brent gained 2.9% this week while WTI rose 1.4%. "Everyone is waiting for President Trump's next step," said UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo. "Over the coming days, it seems nothing will happen," he...
The Swiss Franc (CHF) surges against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday after Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium triggered a broad-based Greenback selloff. At the time of writing, USD/CHF is trading near 0.8003, down almost 1% on the day after briefly touching 0.8104, its highest level in nearly two weeks, before reversing to its lowest in around three and a half weeks. In his keynote, Powell delivered a cautious message that reinforced expectations of a September rate cut while avoiding a firm commitment. On tariffs, he acknowledged that "the...