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 reapproached the psychological $4,000/oz level on Wednesday (October 8th), extending the safe-haven rally. Spot prices briefly touched an intraday record around $3.99,000, while the most-active December New York contract—the most active—returned above $4,000. Pressure on technology stocks following news of lower-than-expected Oracle cloud margins contributed to a rotation into gold amid the protracted US government shutdown. The shutdown delayed key data releases, further clouding the Fed's interest rate cut; market participants relied on official commentary and hedged in the bond...
Oil edged higher after a mixed US inventories report, with traders also focused on the broader outlook for supply as OPEC+ presses on with output increases and American production expands. West Texas Intermediate rose above $62 a barrel after ending little changed on Tuesday, when Brent closed near $65. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute reported a drop of 1.8 million barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub last week, as well as declines in product holdings including gasoline. Still, nationwide crude holdings were estimated to have risen. Crude remains under...
Brent crude oil futures rose from post-settlement levels Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported a mix inventory report as weekly domestic crude inventories increased by more than expected, but product stockpiles including gasoline slipped. Crude Oil WTI Futures, the U.S. benchmark, recently traded at $62.04 a barrel following the report after settling up 0.1% at $61.73 barrel. U.S. crude inventories increased by about 2.8M barrels for the week ended Oct. 3, compared with a draw of about 3.7M barrels reported by the API for the previous week. The build was larger than...
Gold price rallied during the North American session and reached a record high of $3,991, before settling closer to $3,982 for a 0.60% gain. Uncertainty about the US government shutdown and expectations of lower interest rates the Federal Reserve (Fed) keep the yellow metal bid. Bullion hits fresh record highs on US fiscal gridlock, geopolitical uncertainty and central bank demandThe New York Fed revealed the Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) showed that inflation expectations ticked higher, while the labor market continued to deteriorate. Aside from this, Fed officials crossed the...
Silver traded around $48.10 per ounce, retreating from the multi-year high touched on October 6th amid profit-taking as a firmer yield backdrop raised the metal's opportunity cost. The Treasury curve ticked up, making a non-yielding asset less attractive to yield-sensitive capital. Physical demand from solar and electronics remains constructive but not large enough to offset the financial unwind, and modest recoveries in mine output and recycling have eased prompt tightness in deliverable markets. That pullback follows a rally that had been powered by safe-haven buying during the US...