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 weakened slightly on Thursday (September 11), but held near record highs well above $3,600, as a modest dollar recovery and profit-taking weighed on prices, while investors awaited US consumer inflation data due later in the day. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $3,629.23 an ounce, as of 08:11 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $3,673.95 on Tuesday. US gold futures for December delivery fell 0.4% to $3,666.70. The US dollar index rose 0.2% to a near one-week high against a basket of major currencies, making dollar-priced gold more expensive for overseas buyers. "Gold appears to be under some...
The EUR/USD pair recorded a slight decline on Thursday (September 11th), trading at 1.1695, but remained within the previous day's narrow range at the start of the European session. Investors were reluctant to place directional bets, awaiting the outcome of the European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy meeting and the release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures. The ECB is expected to maintain its monetary policy stance. Focus will be on President Christine Lagarde's press conference to see if the unfavorable trade deal with the US and the uncertain political situation in several...
Oil prices held steady on Thursday (September 11th) as concerns over weakening US demand and the risk of a wider oversupply were offset by concerns over attacks in the Middle East and Russia's war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $67.36 per barrel at 07:29 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 17 cents, or 0.3%, to $63.50. Benchmark crude prices rose more than $1 per contract on Wednesday following Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar the previous day and the mobilization of Polish and NATO air defenses to shoot down a suspected Russian...
The Australian dollar weakened slightly on Thursday after strengthening in the previous session. The AUD/USD pair still has room to recover as the US dollar faces pressure following weaker-than-expected US PPI data, which reinforced expectations of Fed easing in September. Domestically, the AUD received support as solid Australian data reduced expectations for further interest rate cuts by the RBA. The swap market now rates an ~86% chance of the RBA holding rates this month. Australian Consumer Inflation Expectations rose to 4.7% in September from 3.9% in August, reflecting stronger...
Silver held around $41/oz, near a 14-year peak, as the market awaited the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) release, which could determine the size of the Fed's interest rate cut next week. Wednesday's US Consumer Price Index (PPI) data fell 0.1% month-on-month (July revised down from +0.7%), missing the +0.3% forecast. Market participants had already priced in a 25 bps cut, with a 50 bps chance of around 8%. Safe haven demand also supported after President Donald Trump pushed the EU to consider tariffs of up to 100% on China and India to pressure Russia. On the industrial side, demand for...