Renewed tensions between the United States and Russia have resurfaced following an incident involving an oil tanker, sparking market concerns about potential disruptions to global energy supplies. Washington's move, associated with tightening oversight and enforcement of sanctions on Russian oil shipments, is viewed by Moscow as provocative and could worsen relations between the two countries. Russia views these actions as an attempt by the United States to suppress Russian energy exports and strengthen its dominance in the global oil market. Meanwhile, Washington argues that these measures...
The Hang Seng plunged 182 points, or 0.9%, to close at 19,560 on Thursday after a sluggish session the previous day, weighed down by losses across sectors. Investor jitters grew over China's policy outlook ahead of next week's central economic work forum and Politburo meeting. U.S.-China technology restrictions and concerns about additional trade disputes also rattled markets. Some economists warned that China's recovery momentum during Q4 could slow in H1 2025, partly due to the impact of the new U.S. administration. Political turmoil in South Korea and France further contributed to...
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3% to close at 39,395 while the broader Topix index edged up 0.06% to 2,742 on Thursday, extending this week's rally and tracking gains on Wall Street overnight where the three major U.S. indexes settled at fresh record highs. The advances were driven by strong corporate earnings and optimism around the artificial intelligence boom, with major U.S. tech companies highlighting the significant boost they are receiving from the sector. In Japan, investors continued to focus on the outlook for monetary policy, with market sentiment divided on the timing of the Bank...
European stocks are set to open in negative territory on Thursday, with French markets in focus after Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government was ousted in a no-confidence vote on Wednesday. A majority of lawmakers from the left-wing New Popular Front and the right-wing National Rally alliance backed the no-confidence motion in the country's lower house late yesterday. The motion was brought by the left-wing and right-wing blocs on Monday after Barnier, who has only been in power for three months, used special constitutional powers to force a social security spending bill through...
China stocks rose modestly on Thursday, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.1% to around 3,370 and the Shenzhen Component up 0.3% to 10,636, recovering losses from the previous session. However, concerns over China's economic challenges and escalating trade tensions with the U.S. kept investors cautious. The November PMI report showed a second straight month of expansion in China's manufacturing sector, although growth in the services sector slowed. Meanwhile, Beijing recently banned exports of critical minerals with military applications to the U.S., a retaliatory move in response to...
Hong Kong stocks plunged 200 points, or 1.0%, to 19,544 on Thursday morning, after a quiet session the previous day, as the sector's overall decline was broadly broad. Traders were concerned about the impact of political instability in South Korea and France. They also shied away from riskier assets amid a potential trade war between China and the US, fueled by technology sanctions from the Biden administration and threats of tariffs from newly elected President Trump. An unexpected slowdown in China's services activity last month added to market jitters. Meanwhile, US stock futures were...
Asian stock markets fell in unison on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline. A brief rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia quickly faded, prompting investors to turn away from riskier assets like...
European stock indices closed marginally lower on Wednesday as equities took a breather from their recent strong momentum, while investors continued to assess the outlook for the ECB's policy this...
The upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump's massive tariffs, which rocked markets in April, is one of the next major tests for US stocks and bonds.
Equity markets...