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...
USD/JPY's bias favors a bearish breakout, based on technical charts, StoneX's Matt Simpson says in a commentary. The one-hour chart shows the currency pair's bearish momentum quickening into its lows, the senior market analyst notes. The so-called "cumulative volume delta" has stayed deeply negative, signaling most trades were bearish, Simpson says. While market participants should be on guard for near-term bounces of USD/JPY heading into the FOMC decision, the technical bias favours a bearish breakout overall, he says. A daily break beneath 145.75 opens up prospects of a further fall...
Gold held its latest gains that saw it rise above $3,700 an ounce for the first time, boosted by traders' bets for a rate cut at Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting. Bullion traded less than $10 below its fresh record of $3,703.07 an ounce reached on Tuesday. It's also been buoyed by a softer US dollar, with one gauge hovering around levels last seen in March 2022. A weaker greenback makes gold cheaper for other currency holders. Traders are squarely focused on the outcome of the Fed's rate-setting meeting, where they see a quarter-point cut this week as a...
Gold edges higher in the early morning Asian session on likely position adjustments ahead of the FOMC decision due later today. Market participants are fully pricing in a 25bp rate cut by the Fed, with a slim chance of a 50bp cut, reinforcing demand for the non-interest-bearing asset, Exness's Eric Chia says in an email. They are also awaiting the Fed's quarterly projections and Fed Chair Powell's press conference for signals on the pace of future rate cuts, the financial markets strategist adds. Spot gold is 0.1% higher at $3,694.54/oz. Source: Dow Jones Newswires
Oil steadied after a three-day gain as traders assess the fallout from Ukrainian attacks on Russian crude infrastructure. West Texas Intermediate rose toward $65 a barrel after gaining 3.4% in the previous three sessions, while Brent closed above $68. Ukraine attacked the Saratov refinery in its latest strike on Russian energy facilities, which have helped cut the OPEC+ member's production to its lowest post-pandemic level. The recent gains haven't been enough to push oil out of the $5 band it has been in for most of the past month, buffeted between geopolitical...
The USD/JPY pair remained under selling pressure around 146.45 during the early Asian session on Wednesday (September 17th). The US dollar (USD) weakened against the Japanese yen (JPY) as investors continued to assess the possibility of additional interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (The Fed) in the coming months. Investors appear to be unwinding long USD positions ahead of the Fed's interest rate decision on Wednesday. The market fully anticipates the Fed will cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) at its September meeting, the first cut since December, with some still expecting...