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...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) holds ground against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday after two days of losses. The AUD/USD pair depreciated as the Greenback received support from the stronger-than-expected economic data from the United States (US). The AUD also faced downward pressure from risk aversion after the US President Donald Trump shared plans to impose a 100% tariff on imports of branded or patented pharmaceutical products from October 1, unless a pharmaceutical company is building a manufacturing plant in the US, per Reuters. Australia's Monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI), which...
Oil headed for its biggest weekly gain in more than three months as US President Donald Trump increased pressure on buyers of Russian energy in a bid to end the war in Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate traded above $65 a barrel after little changed on Thursday while Brent closed above $69. Trump pressed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop buying oil from Russia and discussed energy security with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, after he earlier this week rebuked NATO members for buying fuel from the OPEC+ producer. That comes as Russia's...
Gold edges lower in early Asian trade on possible position adjustments ahead of major U.S. economic data due later today. Investors are turning to the August PCE inflation report for confirmation of the Fed's policy outlook, Kudotrade's Konstantinos Chrysikos says in an email. "Softer data could raise expectations of a dovish stance from the [U.S.] central bank and benefit non-yielding assets like gold," the head of Customer Relationship Management adds. Spot gold is 0.2% lower at $3,741.60/oz. Source: Dow Jones Newswires
The Australian Dollar (AUD) weakened against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday, with the AUD/USD pair extending its decline for a second straight session and falling to its weakest level since September 5. This decline occurred as the greenback surged across the board after a series of stronger-than-expected US economic data bolstered confidence in the resilience of the world's largest economy and dampened risk sentiment. At the time of writing, AUD/USD was trading near 0.6536, down 0.70% on the day. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of six...
Oil prices held steady on Thursday after hitting a seven-week high in the previous session as Russia decided to limit fuel exports until the end of the year. However, the gains were capped by the latest US economic data that dampened optimism about further interest rate cuts. Brent crude futures closed 11 cents, or 0.16%, higher at $69.42 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1 cent, or 0.02%, to $64.98. Both benchmarks rose 2.5% on Wednesday, reaching their highest levels since August 1, driven by a surprise drop in weekly US crude inventories and concerns that...