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...
Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher Monday as investors assessed the resignation of Japan's prime minister and eyed key economic data in the region. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.95% after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation Sunday, following weeks of mounting pressure over his national election defeat late last year. The Topix climbed 0.51%. The Japanese yen weakened 0.64% to 148.33 against the greenback. "Japan is now set for a period of extended uncertainty going into Q4 2025," wrote analysts from BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions. "Although the...
US stocks closed lower on Friday after weaker-than-expected August jobs data raised concerns about a slowing economy, even as expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts firmed. The S&P 500 gave up earlier gains, ending 0.3% lower and below Thursday's record close, the Dow dropped 220 points, while the Nasdaq 100 was flat. The economy added just 22K jobs, well below the 75K forecast, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, highlighting a cooling labor market. Traders priced in a higher chance of interest-rate cuts, with bets rising on a potential 50bps reduction this month. Banks,...
European stocks closed on Friday, tracking the pullback in US equities after pessimistic labor data from the US sounded alarms over the world's largest economy. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 dropped 0.6% to 5,330, and the pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.2% to 549. Nonfarm payrolls in the US were well under market expectations and the unemployment rate, which is under special scrutiny by the Federal Reserve, rose to a near-four-year high. The results backed bets of incoming cuts by the Fed, but such support was offset by concerns of a weakening economy and the pressure on export-oriented sectors in...
US stocks rallied on Friday (September 5th), with the S&P 500 rising 0.4% and the Nasdaq gaining 0.6% to new record highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 100 points as a weak jobs report reinforced expectations of a Fed rate cut this year. The US economy added only 22,000 jobs in August, well below the 75,000 expected, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, the highest since 2021 and in line with expectations. The figures point to a cooling labor market and reinforce speculation that the Fed will cut interest rates later this month, with the market now pricing in...
The Hang Seng index surged 359 points, or 1.4%, to close at 25,418 on Friday, ending a three-day losing streak. Optimism improved after Wall Street's S&P 500 hit a record high on Thursday, with traders betting that the Fed would cut interest rates this month amid further signs of a weakening US labor market. For the week, the index also gained 1.4%, reversing the previous week's decline, supported by a CNY 1 trillion liquidity injection from China's central bank. Gains were capped by the sharpest weekly decline in five months in mainland stocks as traders booked profits following a...