Hong Kong stocks rallied in Wednesday morning trading, with the benchmark index rising 357 points, or 1.4%, to 25,324. This increase extended the rally into a second session and brought the market to a two-week high, with broad-based gains across most sectors. Positive sentiment came from Wall Street, which posted solid gains overnight after weaker US inflation data. The data reinforced speculation that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates in September to support the improving labor market. In mainland China, markets also rallied to a three-year high. The main boost came from the...
Gold fell as safe-haven demand waned after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire that would begin around midnight Monday in Washington. Bullion fell as much as 0.6% to below $3,350 an ounce in early Asian trade. Trump, who made the surprise announcement on his Truth Social platform days after ordering airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, said the deal was aimed at ending the fighting permanently. There was no immediate comment from Iran or Israel. Rising safe-haven demand as geopolitical tensions escalate has been one of the main catalysts...
The Euro (EUR) advances against the US Dollar (USD) on Monday, despite the market mood remaining downbeat amid the Middle East crisis. Worse than expected HCOB Flash PMIs in the Eurozone barely weighed in the shared currency, while German PMIs showed a slight improvement, though they remained in contractionary territory. At the time of writing, EUR/USD trades at 1.1567, up 0.40%. Geopolitics are the primary driver on Monday, as we head into the latest trading week in June. Last Saturday, the US delivered an attack on the three most critical nuclear facilities in Iran, following failed...
Gold prices remain bid during the North American session as breaking news revealed Iran's attack on US bases in Qatar, in retaliation for the over-the-weekend attack on Iran's nuclear installations by the White House. Meanwhile, US economic data was overlooked mainly as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East intensified. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades at $3,385, up 0.39%. Macroeconomic data has been pushed aside as geopolitics grabs most headlines. Iran reported the launch of missiles at US bases in Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq, according to Al Arabiya, citing Israeli media. Alongside...
Oil prices fell 1% on Monday after touching a five-month high as markets tried to gauge the impact on transit of oil and gas via the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. airstrikes against Iran at the weekend. Brent crude futures were down 70 cents, or 0.9%, at $76.31 a barrel by 10:46 a.m. ET (1446 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell 76 cents, or 1%, to $73.09. Earlier in the session, Brent and WTI touched five-month highs of $81.40 and $78.40 respectively, before seesawing between positive and negative territory throughout the European trading session. U.S. President Donald Trump...
The US Dollar Index (DXY) is edging lower after a strong start on Monday as markets monitor the risks of an Iranian retaliation against the United States (US) and look ahead to Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's upcoming testimony on Tuesday. Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump confirmed that American forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites, prompting fears of retaliation from Tehran. The possibility that Iran could respond by disrupting Oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz a critical maritime chokepoint has kept risk sentiment on edge. The Dollar Index, which...