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 (XAU/USD) continues its record-breaking rally on Monday, setting fresh all-time highs around $4,085 as fears of a revived US-China trade war boosts safe-haven demand. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $4,078, up nearly 1.50% on the day, as the metal pushes deeper into uncharted territory and extends its winning streak for a ninth consecutive week. Escalating trade frictions rippled through global markets late Friday after US President Donald Trump stunned investors by announcing plans to impose 100% tariffs on all Chinese imports starting November 1. The move followed...
The US Dollar found support at the 98.80 area after retreating from the mid-range of the 99.00s on Friday, following Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs on China. The Index pared losses on Monday but is struggling to consolidate above the 99.00 level with most currencies trading in a choppy and volatile manner:the US President Donald Trump spooked investors on Friday, announcing 100% levies on Chinese exports in retaliation for the restrictions on the rare earth trade, and tried to cool things off on Sunday with a softer post on social media playing down that possibility. Investors,...
The Australian dollar (AUD) strengthened to around 0.6530 against the US dollar (USD) in the Asian session on Monday, after falling more than 1% in the previous trading session. This strengthening occurred amid the release of China's September trade balance data, which showed a surplus of CNY645.47 billion, down from the previous CNY732.7 billion. China's exports and imports both grew strongly, indicating continued solid trade activity in Australia's major partner. However, the AUD/USD's rise was still overshadowed by trade tensions between the US and China, after President Donald Trump...
Gold rises in early Asian trade, buoyed by monetary debasement fears. "The U.S. Treasury's interest payments have overtaken annual defence spending, the Fed faces political scrutiny over its independence and developed-market debt ratios continue to climb despite record nominal GDP," Saxo Bank's Ole Hansen says in an email. Debasement, "once confined to history books, has re-emerged in market vocabulary as faith in fiat currencies erodes under the weight of chronic deficits, politicised monetary policy, and falling real yields," the head of Commodity Strategy adds. Spot gold is 0.5% higher...
Silver prices surged to near record highs following a major short squeeze in the London market. Meanwhile, gold hit a new record above US$4,060 per ounce, driven by surging demand for safe haven assets amid trade tensions between the United States and China. Other precious metals, such as platinum and palladium, also rallied by more than 2%. This price increase was driven by a combination of massive central bank purchases, increased ownership in ETFs, and the Federal Reserve's low interest rate policy. Furthermore, political uncertainty in the US and the threat of new tariffs on China have...