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 USD/JPY pair weakened near 147.60 during the early Asian session on Wednesday. The US dollar (USD) remained weak against the Japanese yen (JPY) as traders continued to digest various comments from Fed officials, while key indicators of US business activity slightly disappointed investors. On Wednesday, US New Home Sales data for August will be released. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that weakness in the labor market outweighed concerns about stubborn inflation, which led to his decision to cut the benchmark interest rate at last week's September meeting. However, Powell...
Oil prices closed up more than $1 per barrel on Tuesday (September 23) after a deal to resume exports from Iraqi Kurdistan stalled, easing some investors' concerns that the resumption would exacerbate concerns about a global oversupply. Brent crude futures closed up $1.06, or 1.6%, to $67.63 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.13, or 1.8%, to $63.41 per barrel. Both benchmarks recouped significant losses earlier. Pipeline oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey had not resumed on Tuesday despite hopes of a deal to end the deadlock, as the two major producers...
Gold prices rose to a new record high on Tuesday (September 23), driven by safe-haven inflows amid geopolitical uncertainty and expectations of further Fed interest rate cuts. Spot gold prices rose 0.8% to $3,777.80 an ounce at 1:45 p.m. ET (17:45 GMT), after hitting a new record high of $3,790.82 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December delivery closed 1.1% higher at $3,815.7. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell 0.2%, while the U.S. dollar was largely stable. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank faces a "challenging situation" with risks of...
Oil prices rose after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) promised a "robust" response to Russian incursions into its airspace, adding to concerns about Russian supply flows. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose as much as 2.6% to trade near $64 per barrel, its biggest intraday gain in a week, after NATO said it would use all options, including military ones, to defend itself. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed America's commitment to NATO, while the Russian government is evaluating a potential ban on diesel exports for some companies amid a spate of Ukrainian...
Gold hit a new record, with traders weighing China's plan to become a custodian of foreign gold reserves in an effort to strengthen its position in the global bullion market. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) is using the Shanghai Gold Exchange to persuade central banks in friendly countries to buy bullion and store it domestically, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Asian nation is the world's largest producer and consumer of the precious metal, and a larger role in the global bullion market could mean easing import restrictions, or a broader role for gold in the financial...