
EBC Markets Briefing | Aussie dollar pops; health insurers in big trouble
The dollar was grappling with a "crisis of confidence" on Wednesday after Trump brushed off its recent weakness, lifting the Australian dollar to its highest level since February 2023. Australia's inflation ran at a faster-than-expected pace in Q4, adding to a recent slew of hot economic data that h



EBC Markets Briefing | Pound robust after CPI report; silver prices through the roof
The British pound perched around a four-month high against a softening dollar on Tuesday, extending gains from last week when strong domestic data pushed the currency higher. Businesses reported their fastest upturn in activity since April 2024 in January, while retail sales rose unexpectedly last m



EBC Markets Briefing | Yen higher on intervention fears; Intel nosedived
The yen jumped to more than a two-month high on Monday on speculation that forex intervention could be imminent. The BOJ raised economic growth forecasts in last week's meeting. Japan's December inflation data showed headline price growth coming in at 2.1%, its lowest since March 2022, but still run



EBC Markets Briefing | Oil prices firm; analyst upgrade boosted Meta
Oil prices rebounded from a one-week low on Friday. Trump softened threats toward Greenland and Iran, and on some positive movement that could lead to a solution to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Zelenskiy said on Thursday after talks with Trump in Davos that terms of security guarantee for Ukraine ha



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EBC Markets Briefing | Aussie dollar may lose steam; gas prices skyrocketed
The Australian dollar hit 15-month highs on Thursday as a de-escalation in Greenland tensions soothed risk sentiment, while a strong set of domestic jobs data narrowed the odds on a near-term rate hike. The unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 4.1%, the lowest in seven months, mirroring signs of a



EBC Markets Briefing | India looks oversold with tailwinds emerging
Indian shares fell to their lowest levels in over three months in a broad-based sell-off, led by IT shares and Reliance Industries, as tepid corporate earnings and global trade worries bit. Economy is projected to grow 7.4% in the fiscal year ending March 2026, higher than 6.5% in the last fiscal ye


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EBC Markets Briefing | Wall St sharply lower; 3M missed estimates
All three major Wall Street indexes ended Tuesday with their biggest one-day drops in three months. The CBOE Volatility Index spiked to 20.09 points, its highest close since November 24. Earnings season is also kicking into higher gear, with the gap between the Magnificent Seven and the rest of US



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EBC Markets Briefing | Euro gains footing; French stocks plummeted
The dollar retreated to its lowest level in a week in early trading on Tuesday after threats from the White House towards the EU over the future of Greenland triggered a broad selloff across US assets. The EU may hit the US with 93 billion euro worth of tariffs or restrict American companies from



EBC Markets Briefing | China stocks slip; gold may hit $5,000
Stock markets slid in Asia on Monday in the wake of EU-US flare-up. China A50 index remained week after some of the ETFs heavily owned by the so-called national team saw record outflows. The shift may hint at official attempts to rein in a rally driven by AI enthusiasm and earnings optimism, which c



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EBC Markets Briefing | Oil prices muted; Morgan Stanley beat estimates
Oil prices were flat on Friday with both Brent and WTI crude prices moving only a few cents from their closing prices after the likelihood of a planned strike on Iran receded. Both contracts rose to multi-month highs earlier this week after protests flared up in Iran. Trump said Tehran's crackdown o



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EBC Markets Briefing | Yen under pressures; PPI data pushed silver higher
The yen held onto overnight gains on Thursday but was pinned near 18-month lows as traders remained wary of intervention after strong warnings ahead of an election in Japan. Reports of a sudden election at a time when the Japanese leader enjoys huge popularity have fuelled the so-called "Takaichi tr



EBC Markets Briefing | China and Korean market maintain edge over US rival
Asian stocks are having their best-ever start to a year, with South Korea and Taiwan leading the gains. After a three consecutive years of rally, the region's equities are still cheaper compared with US peers. iShares MSCI South Korea ETF jumped 91% in 2025, the largest gain in 16 years. The strong



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EBC Markets Briefing | Gold still shines; Intel on a roll
Gold prices stayed above $4,600 on Wednesday although the dollar recovered ground to near a one-month high. Trump promised Iranians that help was "on its way" as violent crackdown is escalating. After months of publicly threatening Iran, Israel has gone quiet, waiting to see how the protest movement



