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...
The Swiss Franc (CHF) strengthens modestly against the US Dollar (USD) on Wednesday, with USD/CHF trimming intraday gains as the Greenback softens after softer-than-expected US Producer Price Index (PPI) figures further cemented market expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates at its monetary policy meeting next week. At the time of writing, the USD/CHF pair is trading around 0.7973 during the American session, easing from an intraday high of 0.7991 as buyers failed to secure a decisive move above the psychological 0.8000 mark. The loss of upward momentum reflects...
Oil prices settled higher on Wednesday by more than $1 a barrel as investors worried about possible supply disruptions after Poland downed drones in its airspace and the U.S. pushed for new sanctions on buyers of Russian oil the day after an Israeli attack in Qatar, but a report showing swelling U.S. supplies capped gains. Brent crude futures settled up $1.10, or 1.7%, at $67.49 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.04, or 1.7%, to settle at $63.67 a barrel. Geopolitical tensions mounted when Poland shot down drones over its airspace during a widespread Russian...
Gold surged near a record high of $3,650 an ounce on Wednesday (September 10) after an unexpected decline in US producer prices reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates at its meeting next week. Both headline and core PPI fell 0.1% in August, against projections for a 0.3% increase, driven by a sharp decline in wholesale margins for machinery and vehicles. The data follows a weak labor market report earlier this month that has prompted markets to price in several Fed rate cuts this year. Investors now await Thursday's consumer price inflation...
Oil prices rose for a third straight session as investors weighed President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats against buyers of Russian crude, the impact of the Israeli strikes on Doha, and the prospect of a US interest rate cut. Brent traded around $67 per barrel, extending this week's gains to more than 2%. US producer prices fell unexpectedly, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve to cut borrowing costs, potentially helping support energy demand. Trump told European Union officials he was willing to impose new tariffs on India and China, major importers of Russian crude, in...
Gold prices hovered near an all-time high on Wednesday, buoyed by expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut this month, while market participants awaited U.S. inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $3,643.78 per ounce, as of 0821 GMT, after hitting a record high of $3,673.95 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery were flat at $3,682.30. "Gold's gains come on the back of expectations of Fed rate cuts, supported by signs of cooling in the U.S. labour market, which have weakened the dollar," Ricardo Evangelista, senior...