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...
U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, buoyed by tech strength, solid jobs data and hopes for progress on trade. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, the Dow gained 214 points and the Nasdaq gained 0.8%, led by a 2.8% rally in Nvidia that briefly made it the most valuable public company. Other chipmakers such as Broadcom (+3.3%) and Micron (+4.1%) also rose sharply, adding to the chip-driven momentum. A stronger-than-expected JOLTS report showed job openings rose by 191,000 to 7.391 million in April, signaling resilience in the labor market despite trade headwinds. However, the OECD cut its 2025 U.S. growth...
European stocks closed mostly flat on Tuesday, recovering from losses of more than 1% earlier in the session after weaker-than-expected euro zone inflation data reinforced expectations for a 25 basis point interest rate cut by the ECB later this week. Meanwhile, global growth concerns weighed on sentiment after the OECD cut its outlook, projecting world GDP to slow from 3.3% in 2024 to 2.9% in 2025 and 2026, citing rising trade tensions. Adding to market jitters, political instability in the Netherlands deepened as the government collapsed over disagreements on immigration policy. In...
Stocks were little changed Tuesday, following modest gains seen in the first session of June, as growth concerns increased and traders awaited more details on potential U.S. trade deals. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each hovered around the flatline. The Nasdaq Composite, however, was higher by 0.4%. Tuesday's declines follow the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development cutting its U.S. growth outlook. The OECD now sees the U.S. economy expanding by just 1.6%, down from 2.2%. Treasury yields declined, as traders sought out safety. The benchmark 10-year...
The Hang Seng surged 354 points or 1.5% to end at 23,512 on Tuesday, reversing Monday's losses amid strength in all sectors. Hopes that President Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping may speak this week boosted sentiment, signaling a potential easing in trade tensions. Meantime, Finance Secretary Paul Chan reaffirmed Hong Kong's 2025 GDP growth target of 2% to 3%, citing solid Q1 data as well as recent monetary easing and business support measures in China. In corporate news, Vodafone and CK Hutchison finalized their UK merger, launching VodafoneThree with plans to invest £11 billion over...
European shares rebounded on Tuesday, with the Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 rising about 0.2%, supported by broader market gains. Investors remained focused on US trade policy developments, with some hope after the White House said Presidents Trump and Xi may speak this week, despite rising trade tensions. Caution persisted as Trump's unpredictable tariff plans continued to unsettle markets. The US administration also asked an appeals court to pause a ruling that could block new tariffs and urged countries to submit trade proposals by Wednesday. In Europe, attention turned to upcoming euro zone...
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,...