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 slid for a third day in a row to a 16-week low on Wednesday as a U.S. government shutdown fed worries about the global economy, while traders expected more oil supply to come on the market with a planned output boost by OPEC+ next month. Brent crude futures fell 64 cents, or 1.0%, to $65.39 a barrel at 1:03 p.m. EDT (1703 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 55 cents, or 0.9%, to $61.82. That put Brent on track for its lowest settlement since June 5, while WTI was headed for its lowest close since May 30. U.S. oil production growth will stall if prices stay...
Gold (XAU/USD) soars to yet another record high on Wednesday, extending its relentless climb as the United States (US) government shutdown fuels safe-haven demand. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $3,870 during the American session, after peaking at a fresh all-time high near $3,895. The US government officially entered a shutdown early Wednesday after Congress failed to pass a funding bill for the new fiscal year, forcing many federal operations to halt while essential services remain open. A last-minute stopgap measure that had cleared the Republican-controlled House was...
Silver rose above $47 per ounce on Wednesday, marking a new 14-year high as the US government shutdown fueled safe-haven demand for precious metals after lawmakers failed to reach a temporary funding deal. The closure will furlough hundreds of thousands of federal workers and halt key services, with traders now focused on its duration since a prolonged shutdown could delay critical economic data ahead of the Federal Reserve's late-October meeting, including Friday's nonfarm payrolls. At the same time, the Silver Institute projected a global market deficit for the fifth straight year in...
The dollar index fell to its lowest level in the session as U.S. corporate payrolls unexpectedly fell in September and traders increased bets on two interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. The yen outperformed other Group of 10 currencies on Wednesday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% to its lowest level since September 24, heading for a fourth straight day of declines and the longest losing streak in a month. The U.S. government shutdown has begun and risks delaying key economic reports. Private-sector payrolls fell by 32,000 after a revised 3,000 decline a month...
Oil prices stabilized on Wednesday (October 1) after two days of declines as investors considered OPEC+ plans for a larger production increase next month, while data from the US and Asia showed signs of declining demand. Brent crude for December delivery rose 6 cents to $66.09 a barrel at 08:35 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4 cents to $62.41 a barrel. On Monday, Brent and WTI both closed down more than 3%, their sharpest daily declines since August 1. On Tuesday, both fell 1.5% each. "After two days of selling, triggered by reports of an OPEC+ production increase and the...