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 is steady in the early Asian trade, supported by hopes for more Fed rate cuts. Fed Chair Powell is scheduled to deliver comments on the U.S. economy later today. The precious metal hit another record high overnight, building on momentum from last week's Fed rate cut and guidance that further easing is likely as the labor market weakens, FFA Kings' Fadi Al Kurdi says in an email. "Expectations of continued monetary loosening have reinforced demand for the non-yielding asset," the founder and CEO adds. Spot gold is little changed at $3,747.22/oz. Source: Dow Jones Newswires
Oil was little changed after a four-day decline as investors assess the potential impact of moves by western nations to curtail Russian energy exports. West Texas Intermediate's November contract traded near $62 a barrel after falling almost 3% over the previous four sessions, while Brent settled below $67. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he wants to see western allies impose secondary sanctions on Russia quickly in order to dramatically ramp up pressure on President Vladimir Putin. The latest threat to the OPEC+ member's supply comes...
The USD/JPY pair weakened near 147.75 during the early Asian session on Tuesday. The US dollar (USD) weakened against the Japanese yen (JPY) as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials on their latest monetary policy stance. Traders await the S&P Global Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) reports due on Tuesday. The US central bank delivered a widely expected interest rate cut last week but indicated it was in no rush to lower borrowing costs in the coming months. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stated in a press conference that the decision...
Oil prices closed slightly lower on Monday (September 22nd) as concerns about oversupply outweighed geopolitical tensions in Russia and the Middle East. Brent crude futures closed 11 cents, or 0.2%, lower at $66.57 a barrel. The global benchmark has traded between $65.50 and $69 since early August. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October, which expires on Monday, closed down 4 cents, or 0.1%, at $62.64 a barrel. The more actively traded second-month contract fell 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $62.28. "Traders are again focusing on the possibility of an imminent oversupply in the...
Gold rose nearly 2% to an all-time high on Monday (September 22nd), boosted by growing expectations of further US interest rate cuts and continued demand for safe-haven assets amid political uncertainty. Investors are eyeing an upcoming Federal Reserve speech and key inflation data for the latest policy signals. Spot gold rose 1.7% to a new record high of $3,747.08 an ounce, as of 2:06 p.m. ET (1806 GMT). US gold futures for December delivery closed 1.9% higher at $3,775.10. The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops had captured the Kalynivske settlement in the Dnipropetrovsk region of...