If it just seems like the first Friday of the month wasn't the same without being able to pore through the Bureau of Labor Statistics' hotly watched monthly jobs report, don't worry. You probably didn't miss much. While the BLS has gone dark with the shutdown in Washington, other reports outside the government data suggest the labor market just plodded along in September. The Dow Jones consensus forecast was for growth of 51,000 in nonfarm payrolls with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.3%. High-frequency data that includes job postings, private payrolls and state-by-state figures...
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.8% at 19,883.13 in Hong Kong. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Dec. 13 after the previous session's decrease of 0.2%. China Construction Bank Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.9%. Orient Overseas International Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 6.2%. Today, 63 of 83 shares rose, while 19 fell; all sectors were higher, led by finance stocks. Source : Bloomberg
European markets opened lower on Monday as a holiday-shortened trading week kicks off ahead of Christmas. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 is expected to open 8 points higher at 8,098, Germany's DAX is up 12 points at 19,919, France's CAC is up 7 points at 7,291 and Italy's FTSE MIB is up 76 points at 34,031, according to data from IG. Trading is expected to be relatively quiet ahead of Christmas, with European markets set to be closed, or close early, for Christmas Eve and remain closed on Christmas Day. Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets started the week on a positive note, with investors awaiting the...
Japanese stocks rose to end six days of declines as automakers and semiconductor-related names gained on a weaker yen. Banks also pushed the market higher as traders weighed the prospect of higher interest rates. The Topix index was up 0.9% at 2,726.74 by the close. The Nikkei gained 1.2% to 39,161.34. Toyota Motor contributed the most to the Topix's gains, rising 2.4%, while peer Honda Motor also advanced. Honda and Nissan Motor are looking to complete a merger agreement as early as June after negotiations began on Monday, and could merge by 2026, Japanese media reported, citing unnamed...
Shares in Hong Kong rose by 62 points or 0.3% to 19,783 during the Monday morning session, breaking a two-session losing streak amid strength mainly from the financials and property sectors. A solid rise in US futures uplifted sentiment after Washington avoided a year-end shutdown on Saturday and kicked off future spending decisions into Donald Trump's presidency. Locally, the city's annual inflation remained at 1.4% in November, unchanged for the second consecutive month and at its lowest level since May. The government indicated that overall inflation is expected to remain mild in the...
The Nikkei 225 rose 281 points, or 0.7%, to 38,976 in early trade on Monday, bouncing back from the previous session's losses amid a significant rise in U.S. futures as weaker U.S. inflation data revived hopes for potential policy easing next year. The broader Topix index rose 15 points, or about 0.6%, reversing losses in the previous session, buoyed by relief that Washington managed to avoid a government shutdown. At home, the Bank of Japan last week kept its key short-term interest rate at around 0.25%, in line with market expectations, as the central bank needed more time to assess...
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.41% after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Topix added 0.61%. South...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
The U.S. government shut down much of its operations on Wednesday as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a long,...