The Hang Seng index slumped 206 points, or 0.8%, to close at 25,952 on Tuesday, losing early gains as sentiment soured amid a broad sectoral decline. The technology index fell 1.8% after US President Trump said Nvidia would be banned from selling its most advanced AI chips to China, although it would allow some sales to Beijing. Traders largely shrugged off reports that China was raising subsidies, cutting energy bills for major data centers. Consumer and property stocks also weakened, following declines in mainland China as US index futures plunged on uncertainty over the Fed's interest...
Silver prices fell 0.5% to near $36.50 during the European trading session on Friday (August 1). The precious metal faced selling pressure as the confirmation of tariff agreements by the United States (US) with several of its major trading partners, such as Japan, the European Union (EU), South Korea, and others, as well as growing investor confidence that Washington will reach a deal with China, has reduced demand for safe-haven assets, such as silver. Safe-haven assets have performed strongly since US President Donald Trump's announcement of tariff policies, which aim to reduce the...
Silver prices hovered around $36.60 per ounce on Friday and were on track for a weekly loss of about 4%, pressured by a stronger US dollar. The dollar's strength was underpinned by renewed trade tensions after President Donald Trump reaffirmed a 10% global tariff and imposed reciprocal levies of up to 41% on countries without finalized trade deals. Investors also remained cautious ahead of the July US jobs report, which is expected to guide the Federal Reserve's next policy move. On Thursday, core PCE prices, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.3% in June and 2.8% year-on-year,...
Gold prices ticked higher on Friday, supported by uncertainty stemming from a slew of U.S. tariffs slapped on trading partners, although a stronger dollar kept bullion on track for a weekly loss. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $3,299.08 per ounce, as of 0553 GMT. Bullion is down 1.2% so far this week. U.S. gold futures edged up 0.1% to $3,351.60. "Gold has been in a $3,250 to $3,450 range for about two months now, and we see it heading towards the bottom end of the range and perhaps breaking it," said Marex analyst Edward Meir, adding that the dollar's strength was driven by the Federal...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, remains stronger for the seventh successive day and is trading around 100.00 during the Asian hours on Friday. The Greenback surged as the US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index report suggested that price pressures would increase in the second half of 2025 and delay the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate cuts until at least October. Traders await the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), due later in the North American session, which is expected to hold in...
Gold prices were muted around $3,290 per ounce on Friday and were on track for its worst weekly performance since late June, pressured by a stronger US dollar following President Trump's introduction of higher tariffs on multiple countries. Trump reaffirmed a 10% global base tariff and imposed retaliatory duties of up to 41% on nations without trade agreements with the US. He also announced a 40% levy on goods suspected of being rerouted through third countries to bypass existing tariffs. Meanwhile, US data showed that both core and headline PCE prices exceeded expectations in June,...