The Hang Seng Index rose 79 points, or 0.3%, to close at 25,078 on Friday (August 29th), snapping a three-day decline driven by gains in consumer and technology stocks. The index gained 1.2% in August, its fourth consecutive monthly gain, driven by momentum in Chinese stocks, which are nearing a decade-high thanks to strong institutional inflows, attractive valuations, and pro-growth policies, particularly around AI innovation and technological self-sufficiency. The market pared earlier gains as US index futures fell sharply ahead of the PCE inflation data, the Fed's preferred benchmark,...
European stock markets are heading for a mixed open on Friday as attention turns to inflation prints from some of the region's biggest economies, along with the U.S. Price rise data is due from France, Spain, Italy and Germany, ahead of the flash August reading for the euro area next Tuesday. Stateside, investors will be monitoring the personal consumption expenditures price index, a key metric for the Federal Reserve. It comes after Fed Chair Jerome Powell stoked expectations for an interest rate cut in September with a speech last week widely interpreted as dovish-tilting. Interest rate...
Japanese stocks plunged on profit-taking ahead of the release of US personal consumption expenditures data.The Topix index fell 0.5% to 3,075.18 as of 3:30 p.m. Tokyo time.The Nikkei fell 0.3% to 42,718.47."Investors are cautiously monitoring US economic indicators ahead of a possible US interest rate cut in September," said Naoki Fujiwara, senior investment manager at Shinkin Asset Management.The sell-off spread across sectors, hitting exporters such as electronics and automakers, as well as banks and insurance companies. Toyota Motor contributed the most to the Topix decline, falling 1.6%....