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...
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.80%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Fujifilm Holdings Corp. (TYO:4901), which rose 3.56% or 128.00 points to trade at 3,727.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Japan Steel Works Ltd (TYO:5631) added 3.41% or 293.00 points to end at 8,889.00 and Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd. (TYO:8804) was up 3.29% or 96.00 points to 3,012.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Lasertec Corp...
The Hang Seng Index started the day down by 212 points or 0.8%, closing at 26,272 points; the H-share index fell by 77 points or 0.82%, to 9,366 points; while the technology index dropped by 61 points or 0.96%, settling at 6,317 points. In the tech sector, Tencent saw a decline of 0.7%; Alibaba dropped by 2%; Meituan fell by 1.2%; Xiaomi Group was down by 0.7%; JD.com Group experienced a 1.6% decrease; and Kuaishou dropped by 0.1%. Financial stocks exhibited softness, with HSBC Holdings falling by 1.1%; AIA Insurance down by 0.4%; China Ping An declining by 0.7%; and Hong Kong Exchanges...
Asia-Pacific markets fell Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced fresh tariffs on furniture, heavy trucks and pharmaceutical products. Starting from Oct. 1, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and associated products will face a 50% tariff, while a 30% tariff will be charged for upholstered furniture, Trump said on Truth Social early Friday. Additionally, heavy trucks will be imposed a 25% levy. Meanwhile "any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product" faces 100% duties, except for companies that build drug manufacturing plants in the U.S., Trump added. Overnight in the U.S.,...
The Japanese stock market is poised to weaken on Friday due to uncertainty over the impact of US tariffs on corporate profits. Nikkei futures on the SGX fell 0.3% to 45,330, signaling pressure on the Japanese stock market.However, the weakening yen provided some support. The USD/JPY exchange rate stood at 149.85, higher than Thursday's close of 148.83. A weaker yen typically benefits Japanese exporters by increasing the competitiveness of their products in the global market. Investors are now focused on developments in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election. The...
US stocks weakened for a third session on Thursday, as investors weighed strong economic data against expectations of future Fed rate cuts. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each fell 0.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 175 points, with all sectors except energy in negative territory. Initial jobless claims fell to 218,000 for the week ending September 20, signaling a resilient labor market, while second-quarter GDP growth was revised up sharply to 3.8% annualized, driven by strong consumer spending and business investment. Market participants are now recalibrating expectations for the...
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,...