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...
Asian stock markets, particularly in Hong Kong, surged on hopes that the United States would soon cut interest rates. This news came after data showed the US labor market weakened last month, increasing the chances of the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) lowering interest rates at its next meeting in December. Interest rate cuts are usually good news for the stock market as they can stimulate economic growth and investment. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose around 1 percent, reaching its highest level in a month. Major stocks such as Shenzhou International Group and China Hongqiao...
Asian markets moved mixed on Wednesday. Japan's shares edged lower, while Australia and several other indices gained. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.26%, but the Topix rose 0.35%. In South Korea, the Kospi was flat, and the Kosdaq rose 0.62%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.13%. Hang Seng futures pointed to a slightly higher opening at 26,865, compared to the previous close of 26,696.41.The main highlight came from SoftBank Group. The Japanese company revealed it sold its entire stake in Nvidia for US$5.83 billion in October, in line with its "all-in" strategy for OpenAI. SoftBank also...
The Nikkei index weakened 0.3% to 50,674.53 on Wednesday, dragged down by declines in technology and semiconductor stocks. SoftBank Group (-5.9%), Kioxia (-2.8%), and Advantest (-2.8%) led the decline, indicating that risk appetite for growth stocks remains fragile. Interestingly, the Topix index rose 0.5% to 3,338.87, signaling a rotation into more defensive or value sectors—such as financials, industrials, and raw materials—amid pressure on major tech names. This means the market is not entirely risk-off, but rather more selective. In the forex market, USD/JPY was at 154.07 (from 154.22...
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 630 points to a new record high, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.3% as investors shifted from technology stocks to blue-chip and cyclical stocks on expectations that a funding deal would pass the House of Representatives this week. Progress in the Senate toward reopening the government lifted sentiment in economy-sensitive sectors, while leading healthcare companies such as Merck (+4.8%), Amgen (+4.6%), and Johnson & Johnson (+2.9%) boosted the Dow. Hopes that the government's reopening would release delayed...
US stock indices were muted on Tuesday amid fresh labor market concerns and continued skepticism on whether AI valuations are warranted by fundamentals. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 inched lower, while the Dow was close to the flatline. Data from the ADP indicated an average of 11,250 jobs were lost per week through most of October, consolidating the wave of pessimistic labour reports released by other private sources. In the meantime, stocks with exposure to soaring AI capital expenditures remained under pressure from recent concerns of frothiness after SoftBank sold its entire $5.8...
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...