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 fell on the first trading day of 2026 as expectations of a growing supply surplus offset geopolitical risks to production in some OPEC+ countries. Brent crude traded near $60 per barrel on a relatively thin trading day, while West Texas Intermediate neared $57. Middle East markets, including derivatives such as the regional benchmark Dubai, weakened amid heavy selling pressure during the key Asian trading window, traders familiar with the matter said. Faced with a seasonal decline in consumption, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is likely to remain...
Precious metals began the first trading session of the New Year by continuing their strong gains in 2025 as geopolitical tensions and expectations of a US interest rate cut kept gold demand high. Spot gold prices rose 0.5% to $4,335.50 an ounce, as of 10:25 a.m. ET (15:25 GMT), after hitting $4,402.06 earlier in the session. Bullion hit a record high of $4,549.71/oz on December 26, marking a 64% increase in 2025. US gold futures for February delivery rose 0.1% to $4,346.20/oz. "We continue to see the market talking about a March interest rate cut and possibly another later this year. That...
The spot gold price on the global market has shown positive momentum since the start of 2026 after recording a remarkable increase throughout 2025. The latest data shows that spot gold was last traded at around US$4,378 per ounce, up around 1.6% in the Asian session due to several economic factors and market sentiment supporting the precious metal as a safe-haven asset. This global gold rally comes after the precious metal ended last year with a record gain of more than 60%, its largest achievement in decades. Market analysts identify several key drivers, including a weaker US dollar,...
The Australian Dollar is the best performer among major currencies in an otherwise calm start tobe the year. The Aussie appreciates nearly 0.5% against the US Dollar in the daily chart, so far, buoyed by a positive market sentiment and heightened hopes that the next move by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will ber a rate hike. The hawkish comments by RBA Governor Michelle Bullock, after the December 9 monetary policy decision, and the minutes of the meeting, revealed that policymakers' concerns about inflation have taken center stage, and that the possibility of a rate hike was at the...
The US dollar opened 2026 weakly on Friday. Throughout last year, the dollar was pressured by many major currencies due to narrowing interest rate differentials between the US and other countries. Concerns about the US budget deficit, the global trade war, and the independence of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) weighed on the dollar and are expected to continue this year. The euro and the pound sterling are examples of currencies that have strengthened significantly. The euro stabilized at around $1.17 after surging more than 13% last year, while the pound sterling held around $1.34 after...