Asia / Pacific

Asian shares will end a difficult November on a more stable footing as renewed hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut have helped calm valuation fears and Treasuries are rallying for the fourth consecutive month. The U.S. market, which was closed for Thanksgiving overnight, is due to have a shorter session on Friday. This means that activity will be more muted across all major asset classes than usual. The majority of European stocks were higher while currencies were more calm. In Asia, European stock futures rose by 0.1% while FTSE Futures rose by 0.2%. Wall Street futures, however, were affected...

Hungarian Prime Minster Viktor Orban announced that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Moscow to discuss crude oil and gas supplies to Hungary as well as peace efforts in Ukraine. Orban maintained close ties with Moscow despite war in Ukraine. Hungary remains heavily dependent on Russian energy despite European Union attempts to reduce dependence. Orban announced his plans to meet Putin via a Facebook video. He added, "I'm going (to Moscow), to make sure that Hungary's supply of energy is secure for the winter and in 2019." Orban replied, "We cannot avoid it." When asked whether...

Asian shares will end a difficult November on a more stable footing as renewed hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut have helped calm valuation fears and Treasuries are rallying for the fourth consecutive month. The U.S. market, which was closed for Thanksgiving overnight, is due to have a shorter session on Friday. This means that activity will be more muted across all major asset classes than usual. The majority of European stocks were higher while currencies were more calm. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan was flat Friday. It is now on track to gain 3% in the...

Two delegates and a source with knowledge of OPEC+ meetings said that OPEC+ will likely leave oil production levels unchanged during its Sunday meeting and agree on a method to measure members' maximum capacity to produce. Two delegates stated that the eight OPEC+ nations who have gradually increased output in 2025 will keep their policy of halting hikes in the 1st quarter of 2026. OPEC+, a grouping of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia and pumping about half the oil in the world, has been discussing production capacity figures for years, against...

Industry sources say that Pakistan's fuel oil exports reached a record high in this year. They are expected to continue to increase next year as domestic taxes discouraged purchases and power plants switch to cleaner alternatives. The increase in Pakistani fuel oil exports in Asia has increased the supply, further affecting prices on a market already oversupplied. Shipping data from Kpler & LSEG revealed that fuel oil exports to Pakistan hit a new high in 2018. Kpler data showed that exports have surpassed 1.4 million tons (8.9 million barrels) so far in this year, an increase of over 16% compared...

Tom Westbrook gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The dollar's weekly drop was the largest in four months, and traders were looking ahead to 2026 as markets slowed down for Thanksgiving in the U.S. The U.S. is looking to further ease interest rates, while the rest of world seems to be finishing off their rate cuts. South Korea is the latest country to adopt a hawkish stance, abandoning its easing bias. Bonds have fallen. Asahi Noguchi, a former Bank of Japan dove, also adopted a slightly hawkish tone in his speech to...

The growing bets on a rate cut in the U.S. lifted stocks for a 4th straight day, and Europe's stock markets experienced an incredible few hours when Britain's fiscal regulator accidentally published new forecasts that were crucial ahead of a brutal UK budget. The UK budget was released by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and contained yet another round of tax increases. Early release The Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook has already triggered a response. The sterling and gilt yields both rose as OBR figures showed a better than expected picture of the UK's fiscal room, but then...

The Asian stock market rose on Wednesday as it followed Wall Street's gains, with weaker than expected economic data fueling expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates during its next policy meeting. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan rose by 1.1% after U.S. shares ended the previous session mildly up. Japan's Nikkei index gained 1.9% while U.S. futures rose 0.3%. U.S. stock prices recovered lost ground following a recent sell-off. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones all rose for the third day in a row on Tuesday as data revealed that retail sales were lower...

Gregor Stuart Hunter gives us a look at what the markets will be like in Europe and around the world. It is make-or-break for Britain's Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, who will unveil her budget later today. The budget could contain tens or hundreds of millions of pounds worth of new taxes. In Asian trading, the pound is up 0.2% to $1.3193, a rise of a fifth day in a row ahead of her speech at 1230 GMT. Sources say that after the meeting between the new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takayichi and BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda last week, the Bank...

The Asian stock market rose on Wednesday as it followed Wall Street's gains. Weaker-than-expected data on the economy fueled expectations that Federal Reserve would cut interest rates during its next policy meeting. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan rose 1% after U.S. shares ended the previous session mildly up. Japan's Nikkei index gained 1.8% while U.S. futures stocks edged up by 0.2%. U.S. stock prices recovered lost ground following a selloff at the beginning of the month. The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose for the third day in a row on Tuesday, after data revealed...

The global stock market rose on Tuesday, and was on track for a third consecutive session of gains. Investors remained confident that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates during its December meeting. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Yields fell. Alphabet and Meta Platforms led the gains on Wall Street. Google's parent company hit an intraday high of $328.83, and was up over 1% last as it approached $4 trillion market capitalization. This would make it the only fourth company to achieve this mark. The Information reported on Meta Platforms, which rose 3% and was the largest boost to the S&P...

Three OPEC+ source said that OPEC+ will likely leave the output levels unchanged during its meeting on Sunday, but focus on a hypothetical topic about how much oil each member can produce to decide on future policies. OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, such as Russia. It pumps around half of the world's crude oil. For years, OPEC+ has discussed production capacity figures – or baselines – against which member's output targets are determined. OPEC+ said that ministers will discuss on Sunday a method to determine the maximum production capacity of countries, which...

The gold price rose on Friday, and was poised to reach a fourth consecutive monthly increase. This optimism stemmed from investor expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by December. Gold spot rose 0.8%, to $4,189.61 an ounce, by 0303 GMT. It was at its highest level since November 14 and set for a weekly gain of 3%. Bullion will rise by 3.9% this month. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery were up 0.5% to $4,221.30 an ounce. Trading conditions look a little thin in terms of liquidity, which is exacerbating certain market movements. Many of the...

The price of copper is expected to rise on Friday, as the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting expectations are bolstered by soft economic data in the United States. As of 0330 GMT the most traded copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.41% to 87,430 Yuan ($12356.37) per kilogram, a gain of 1.66% for the week. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange increased 0.50%, to $10,994 per ton. It is expected to finish the week with a 1.99% gain. London's contract was met with resistance at $11,000 per ton. This shows that there are no major triggers...

Plans to build a series of new smelters have been shelved The industry still expects to gain new capacity through projects in construction The move is seen as a sign of more to come Amy Lv. Lewis Jackson, and Dylan Duan Industry insiders say that the decision by China to suspend a number of planned copper smelters will not have a significant impact on historically tight copper markets, unless more measures are taken to reduce output. Due to the disruption of mines, copper concentrate supplies are becoming scarcer and more expensive. The growth in smelting capacity in China has increased...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1601 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2%, at $4,157.29 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.2% to $4154.30 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1423 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.1% to $4,159.31 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.3% to $4156.30 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

The spot platinum price rose on Thursday, as the opening of futures trading at the Guangzhou Stock Exchange in China helped to increase the overall liquidity. These contracts represent the first domestic price-hedging mechanisms for platinum and palladium, which are used in automakers and other industries including jewellery and investment goods. On their first trading day, Guangzhou's June platinum futures jumped 6% while palladium rose 1.5%. After hitting a one-month high of $1,641, spot platinum prices in London rose 1.0% to $1,604 per troy inch by 1226 GMT. Palladium spot prices were unchanged at $1,423. China is the largest consumer...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1216 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2% to $4,156.89 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.2% to $4154.40 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

The copper prices were under pressure Thursday due to a stronger dollar, and poor data from China's top metals consumer. They had hit their highest level in nearly a month the previous session. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.7% to $10,893.50 per metric tonne by 1121 GMT. On Wednesday, the metal reached $11,025 - its highest level since October 30 - on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by December. The metal reached a record-high of $11,200 due to disruptions in mine supply on October 29. The metals market focused...

Plans to build a series of new smelters have been shelved The industry still expects to gain new capacity through projects in construction The move is seen as a sign of more to come Amy Lv. Lewis Jackson, and Dylan Duan Industry insiders say that the decision by China to shelve plans for a number of copper smelters will not have a significant impact on historically tight copper markets, unless more measures are taken to reduce output. Due to the disruptions in mines, supplies of copper concentrate have been stretched and increased. The fees paid for processing copper (also known...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1052 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2% to $4,154.27 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.4% to $4150.40 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

The gold price was stable on Thursday. It held near its two-week high, as investors assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 857 GMT, spot gold was unchanged at $4,165.24 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.1% to $4162.20 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it has traded above...

Shanghai copper gained for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday as renewed hopes of a December rate cut by U.S. Federal Reserve boosted sentiment. After hitting the highest price since November 14, 87,300 Yuan, the most traded copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange, closed the day's trading up by 0.35%, to 86990 yuan per metric ton. As of 0753 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper fell 0.44%, to $10,927 per ton. The London copper price eased after it broke through $11,000 per ton on the previous Wednesday. It reached $11,025, its highest level since October 30. ING analysts...