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 moved down from a record high early Thursday as traders take profits while the dollar rose to a two-month high. Spot Gold was last seen down 0,72% to $4,010.40 per ounce. The price of the precious metal has climbed 21% since Aug. 18 when it began to rise as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the independence of the Federal Reserve, while the central bank signaled it was ready to begin lowering interest rates as the U.S. labor market weakened. Strong demand from central banks and exchange-traded funds have also offer support for the metal's record run. "Strong ETF inflows,...
The dollar weakened on Thursday (October 9th), for the first time this week; most G-10 currencies weakened on the day, with the Australian and Canadian dollars outperforming the rest. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell less than 0.1% USD/JPY rose for a sixth day to 152.79, the longest winning streak since December EUR/USD fell for a fourth straight day to 1.1611 GBP/USD fell for a third day to 1.3382 USD/CAD fell less than 0.1% to 1.3946, its first decline in three days The government shutdown delayed Thursday's release of US data covering initial and continuing jobless claims as...
Spot silver prices surged to their highest level in decades as surging demand for safe-haven assets exacerbated supply constraints in the London bullion market. The precious metal surged 2.3% past $50 an ounce on Thursday, its highest level since the Hunt Brothers' squeeze in the 1980s. Silver continued a surge that has lifted prices more than 70% this year, outpacing gold's record-breaking rally. This is part of a growing search for safe-haven assets fueled by concerns about fiscal risks in the US, an overheated equity market, and threats to the independence of the Federal...
Oil prices were little changed on Thursday (October 9) as investors weighed a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that could ease tensions in the Middle East against stalled peace talks in Ukraine that could extend sanctions on Russia and limit its exports. Brent crude futures fell 12 cents to $66.13 a barrel at 09:43 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 14 cents to $62.41. Egypt's government-affiliated Qahera TV reported that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas had officially taken effect just after midday in the region (09:00 GMT), when the rivals signed it in the Egyptian...
The US dollar strengthened on Thursday (October 9th), continuing its gains this week, driven by a weaker euro due to the political crisis in Paris and a weaker yen amid a change in the ruling party leadership in Japan. This week's markets were also overshadowed by the prolonged US government shutdown. The euro weakened following the resignation of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his government earlier this week. However, President Emmanuel Macron still surprised markets with plans to appoint a new prime minister this week. The single currency last traded 0.2% lower at $1.1609,...