New Zealand’s dollar may defy bearish hedge-fund positioning and rally in the near-term on a hawkish tilt from the central bank and any de-escalation in the Middle East, analysts say. Short positions in the kiwi held by leveraged funds climbed to their highest since December 2019 in the week to May 5, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Yet the currency has not tracked those be...
New Zealand’s dollar may defy bearish hedge-fund positioning and rally in the near-term on a hawkish tilt from the central bank and any de-escalation in the Middle East, analysts say. Short positions in the kiwi held by leveraged funds climbed to their highest since December 2019 in the week to May 5, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Yet the currency has not tracked those bets and may rise almost 2% from current levels if technical support holds, Westpac Banking Corp. said. “NZD/USD is looking neutral-to-bullish at present,” said Imre Speizer , a strategist at Westpac. “Price action is not neatly following CFTC data” and any easing in the Iran conflict may broadly weaken the dollar, causing a short squeeze in the kiwi. The disconnect between stretched bearish positioning and the kiwi’s resilience points to a rebound if key catalysts emerge. Traders are set to focus on inflation expectations data later this week and any hawkish signals from Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman ’s speech that may help drive further gains. Hedge funds have been negative on the currency this year as a soft domestic economy risks further strain from the Iran war’s energy shock. Even so, the kiwi has climbed more than 3% against the dollar, making it the third-best performer among Group-of-10 peers . The currency was 0.4% weaker at 59.43 US cents in Monday trading as President Donald Trump and Iran rejected each other’s latest peace proposals to end the conflict. Kiwi can still as slip as traders digest the latest Iran news, but “we judge market participants consider the war will be over soon,” said Joseph Capurso , head of currency, international and geoeconomics research at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. New Zealand’s currency may also find support if the RBNZ speech prompts markets to reassess the policy outlook, he added. “I think NZ dollar will have a good week, assuming Breman is hawkish.”
A $3.5 billion multi-asset fund at Pictet Asset Management has sharply raised its equity exposure, shifting as much as 30% of its cash-equivalent holdings into artificial-intelligence heavyweights across Asia and the US. The Hong Kong-managed Pictet Strategic Income Fund nearly doubled its stock allocation to about 65% within weeks after US-Iran ceasefire talks in early April, targeting undervalue...
A $3.5 billion multi-asset fund at Pictet Asset Management has sharply raised its equity exposure, shifting as much as 30% of its cash-equivalent holdings into artificial-intelligence heavyweights across Asia and the US. The Hong Kong-managed Pictet Strategic Income Fund nearly doubled its stock allocation to about 65% within weeks after US-Iran ceasefire talks in early April, targeting undervalued and infrastructure-linked firms tied to AI. The conviction helped the fund beat nearly 90% of peers over the past month and delivered a roughly 43% return over the past year. “I think this is still a very strong, prolonged cycle for AI, which would benefit the Asia supply chain,” Lorraine Kuo , who co-manages the fund, said in an interview last week. “We still like those leading US tech names — especially those with everything from the models, chips, even the distribution channel.” Among top bets have included South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. , whose shares have surged 194% so far in 2026, as well as Samsung Electronics Co. , up more than 138%. The two companies accounted for nearly two-thirds of the benchmark Kospi Index’s gains. It also owns Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp., according to filings. Pictet’s risk-on turn reflects a broader market sentiment shift as expectations of a resolution in the Middle East embolden investors to unwind defensive bets, while a stronger narrative around AI — with supply chain companies flagging shortages — draws capital back into infrastructure-related stocks. According Andy Wong , Pictet Hong Kong’s head of multi-asset and the lead manager of the fund, they also use a “full-stack” approach to spotting opportunities, which include tracking shifting supply chain bottlenecks. “While compute is important, opportunities are opening up at the operating system and application levels,” Wong added, pointing to the rapid growth in Anthropic PBC’s annualized revenue. Beyond the heavyweights, investor interest is also growing in less...
China’s trade surplus decreased to $84.82 billion in April 2026 from $95.85 billion in April 2025 but was higher than the expected $83.3 billion. The surplus with the U. S. was $23.07 billion. For the first four months of 2026, China’s total trade surplus was $347.70 billion, down from $368.8 billion in the same period last year. In April 2026, exports reached a record high of $359.44 billion, up ...
China’s trade surplus decreased to $84.82 billion in April 2026 from $95.85 billion in April 2025 but was higher than the expected $83.3 billion. The surplus with the U. S. was $23.07 billion. For the first four months of 2026, China’s total trade surplus was $347.70 billion, down from $368.8 billion in the same period last year. In April 2026, exports reached a record high of $359.44 billion, up 14.1% year-on-year, exceeding forecasts and showing a strong rebound after a weak growth of 2.5% in March. For the first four months of the year, total exports still grew 14.5% year-on-year to USD 1.34 trillion. However, during the period, sales to the US dropped 10.2%. This growth was driven by companies building inventories due to concerns over rising input costs amid the Iran war. Shipments to the U. S. increased by 11.3% to $36.8 billion, recovering after a significant decline in March. Imports jumped 25.3% to $274.62 billion in April, marking a second consecutive month of record-high purchases fueled by strong domestic demand despite inflation concerns. nespix On Monday, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4% to 4,197, its highest level since July 2025, while the Shenzhen Component gained 0.8% to a fresh five-year high of 15,680 , and the offshore yuan steadied around 6.79 per dollar on Monday, remaining at its strongest level since February 2023. ETFs: (NYSEARCA: FXI ), (NYSEARCA: KWEB ), (NYSEARCA: CQQQ ), (NASDAQ: MCHI ), (NYSEARCA: ASHR ), (NYSEARCA: YINN ), (NYSE: TDF ), (NYSEARCA: CHIQ ), (NYSEARCA: GXC ), (NYSEARCA: EWH ), (NYSEARCA: KBA ), (NYSEARCA: YANG ), (NASDAQ: CXSE ), (NYSE: CAF ), (NYSEARCA: CWEB ), (NASDAQ: PGJ ), (NYSEARCA: KURE ). Currency: ( CNY:USD ) More on China markets and economy: China A50 Bullish Breakout Above 6-Month Resistance CQQQ: Fairly Valued For A Reason CQQQ: The China Tech ETF That Keeps Testing Your Patience Asian markets retreat from records as U.S.-Iran tensions resurface in the Strait Asia markets surge, Japan hits records on Middle E...
British paratroopers landed on a “golf course covered in rocks” to supply medical personnel and oxygen to Britain’s most remote overseas territory as it deals with a suspected hantavirus case, an army commander said on Sunday. The UK Health Security Agency confirmed on Friday that a British national had disembarked from the cruise ship MV Hondius to the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, w...
British paratroopers landed on a “golf course covered in rocks” to supply medical personnel and oxygen to Britain’s most remote overseas territory as it deals with a suspected hantavirus case, an army commander said on Sunday. The UK Health Security Agency confirmed on Friday that a British national had disembarked from the cruise ship MV Hondius to the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, where they live, with a suspected case of hantavirus. Six paratroopers, a Royal Air Force (RAF)...
Former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney believes the video assistant referee "did a really good job" in disallowing West Ham's late equaliser against Arsenal.
Former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney believes the video assistant referee "did a really good job" in disallowing West Ham's late equaliser against Arsenal.
President Trump and Iran rejected each other's peace proposals threatening a fragile ceasefire after 10 weeks of conflict. Hasan Alhasan, Senior Fellow for Middle East Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies spoke to Bloomberg’s Horizons Middle East and Africa anchor Joumanna Bercetche on the future of the peace plan and how the Gulf Arab countries are reacting to the war. (Sou...
President Trump and Iran rejected each other's peace proposals threatening a fragile ceasefire after 10 weeks of conflict. Hasan Alhasan, Senior Fellow for Middle East Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies spoke to Bloomberg’s Horizons Middle East and Africa anchor Joumanna Bercetche on the future of the peace plan and how the Gulf Arab countries are reacting to the war. (Source: Bloomberg)