Russia said that it had established direct contact with the political committee of the Syrian "Sharm el-Liberation Organization". On the 12th local time, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Bogdahn Novo said that Russia had established direct contact with the political committee of the Syrian armed group "Liberation Syria".Market News: HSBC evaluates the retail banking business outside the UK and Hong Kong.The mortgage interest rate in the United States fell for the third consecutive week, and the demand for home purchases rose. The mortgage interest rate in the United States fell for the third consecutive week. Freddie Mac said in a statement that the average interest rate of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 6.6%, down from 6.69% last week. Redfin Corp' s data for the four weeks ending December 8 show that buyers have been pushing forward in recent weeks, and the purchase contract has increased by 4.1% year-on-year. However, the broker said that affordability still faces challenges, because interest rates are still at a high level and the median selling price has increased by 6% year-on-year. "Demand is adapting to the new normal after the election," said Chen Zhao, head of economic research at Redfin.
The Israeli army issued evacuation orders to several blocks in Gaza City, Gaza. On the afternoon of 12th local time, the IDF issued an evacuation warning to several blocks in Gaza City, Gaza, asking residents in relevant blocks to evacuate as soon as possible. In a statement, the Israeli army claimed that militants in Hamas fired rockets from these neighborhoods at Israeli troops fighting in the Gaza earlier that day.Market News: Texas, USA, announced a draft legislation to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve.Major indexes of European stocks were mixed, with German DAX 30 index up 0.08%, French stock index down 0.06%, Italian stock index up 0.40%, British stock index up 0.03% and European STOXX 600 index down 0.19%.
African stock market | On Thursday (December 12th), the FTSE /JSE Africa Top 40 tradable index closed down 0.18% to 78,341.48 points. The South African rand is currently down 0.58% against the US dollar, reaching a fresh low of 17.8027 rand.The previous crude oil futures 2401 contract closed up 1.51% at 545.40 yuan/barrel. Shanghai Gold closed down 0.59% and Shanghai Bank closed down 1.67%.Sources: A few ECB policymakers initially hoped to cut interest rates by 50 basis points. Three sources said that several ECB policymakers initially hoped to cut interest rates more sharply on Thursday, and they were worried that the new US tariffs would hinder economic growth. The European Central Bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday, and opened the door for more easing policies, as the euro zone economy was dragged down by domestic political instability and the threat of a new round of trade war in the United States. However, due to the low forecast of inflation and economic growth, about five of the 26 members of the official Committee initially advocated a 50 basis point interest rate cut. In particular, they pointed out that if the incoming Trump administration imposes new tariffs on the EU, the growth of economic output next year may be lower than the 1.1% expected by the European Central Bank. A small number of policy makers who called for greater interest rate cuts quickly gave in, adding that given the current uncertainty, people are reluctant to make a hasty decision.