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 edges lower in early morning Asian session on a likely technical correction after front-month Comex gold futures posted their longest winning streak since March 28, 2025 last week. "The market may face some price correction risks in the short term following its strong climb," Naga's Frank Walbaum says in an email. Investors could monitor this week's FOMC meeting as well as new economic data as these may affect the precious metal's direction, the market analyst adds. Spot gold is 0.1% lower at $3,637.95/oz. Source: Marketwatch
Oil was little changed after advancing last week, as traders weighed moves to crack down on Russian flows against forecasts for a surplus later in the year. Brent traded near $67 a barrel, after adding 2.3% last week, while West Texas Intermediate was below $63. US President Donald Trump reiterated calls that Europe must stop buying oil from Russia, after earlier saying that he's prepared to move ahead with "major" sanctions on crude supply from the OPEC+ member if NATO countries do the same. While most European countries have cut back or stopped purchasing Russian...
EUR/USD remains steady during the North American session on Friday, poised to end the week with modest gains of over 0.18% as traders brace for the next week's monetary policy decision by the Federal Reserve (Fed). At the time of writing, the pair trades at 1.1736, virtually unchanged. Euro ends week modestly higher as soft US data cements rate cut bets, narrowing policy divergence with ECB US economic data continued to drive price action on Friday as Consumer Sentiment in September deteriorated, while inflation expectations remain above the Fed's 2% goal. This, and the payrolls revision...
Oil prices rose on Friday after a Ukrainian drone attack suspended loadings from the largest port in western Russia, but gains were capped by concerns about U.S. demand. Brent crude futures settled at $66.99 a barrel, up 62 cents, or 0.93%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $62.69, a gain of 32 cents, or 0.51%. Early in the day, crude reacted to the drone attack on Russia's northwestern port of Primorsk, which led to a suspension of oil loading operations overnight, an official from Ukraine's SBU security service said. "Those attacks on Russian energy infrastructure have room...
Gold prices rise over 0.44% during Friday's North American session as weaker than expected jobs market data increased the chances that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates next week. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades at $3,649 after hitting a daily low of $3,630. Bullion rises on weak Consumer Sentiment, Jobless Claims boost Fed easing betsThe week ended with a softer than expected University of Michigan (UoM) Consumer Sentiment for September, while 5-Year inflation expectations surged. Friday's data along with Tuesday's -911K payroll revision, and an increase in people...