The Hang Seng Index reversed its downward trend in Hong Kong on Thursday (February 12th), weakening by around 0.9% to around 27,000 after a strong session earlier. This decline halted the momentum of the short term rally, as investors began to reduce risk in large cap stocks. Among the index's contributors, Tencent was a major drag, with its shares falling by around 2.3%, putting pressure on the technology sector, which has recently been a driving force behind market gains. Weakness in large cap companies like this typically quickly impacts sentiment due to their significant weighting in...
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) soured sharply on Friday, plummeting to its lowest bids in nearly three weeks and declining over 1,000 points top-to-bottom after US President Donald Trump pulled out of upcoming trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and vowed to sharply increase import tariffs on all Chinese goods. According to Trump, China is holding the rest of the world hostage with its protectionist rare earth materials policies. Market-wide expectations of a potential tariff-easing trade deal between the US and China were demolished by Trump's fresh tariff proclamation,...
European stocks extended losses for a second session on Friday, with both the Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 down around 1%. Defense stocks led declines as signs of progress emerged in a US-brokered peace deal in the Middle East. Israel confirmed that a ceasefire with Hamas took effect at noon local time, with troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza as hostages were released under the agreement. The Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defense index slumped over 2%, led by Leonardo (-5.6%), Rheinmetall (-2.5%), Thales (-2.4%), Saab (-2.2%), BAE Systems (-1.9%), Rolls-Royce (-1.7%), Safran (-1.6%), and Airbus...
US stock indexes opened slightly higher on Friday (October 10) New York time, as investors "buy the dip" while awaiting the release of U-Mich Consumer Sentiment amid the government shutdown, which has entered its 10th day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose around 0.08%, the S&P 500 +0.08%, and the Nasdaq +0.08% at the opening bell. This optimistic tone comes after the previous session's correction and hopes that sentiment data could provide clues to the economy's future direction. On the other side of the market, gold remained above the psychological threshold and the US 10-Year...
The Hang Seng Index plunged 462 points, or 1.7%, to close at 26,290 on Friday (October 10), extending its decline for the fifth consecutive session and hitting a two-week low. Technology stocks led the decline, down more than 3%, after China tightened rare earth metal export controls and increased restrictions on chip imports to reduce reliance on US products such as Nvidia's AI processors. Consumer goods stocks also fell about 2.7%, as investors grew cautious ahead of key Chinese data for September next week, including trade, CPI/PPI, and credit data. Top losers included Zhojin Mining...
European stocks were flat on Friday morning, but the Stoxx Europe 600 was still headed for a weekly gain of ~0.2% as French political concerns eased. The automotive and consumer goods sectors led the way, while energy and mining lagged. ArcelorMittal briefly fell as much as 5.2% after Goldman Sachs cut its rating from buy to neutral due to its perceived "overstretched" valuation. Sentiment improved after news that President Emmanuel Macron would appoint a new prime minister on Friday evening, helping to stem the decline in French stocks following the resignation of Sebastien Lecornu. The...