The Hang Seng Index plunged 265 points, or 1.1%, to close at 24,508 on Friday (August 1), weakening for a fourth session and hitting a two-week low. Risk sentiment weakened after the US imposed high tariffs on dozens of trading partners, while US futures prices fell sharply after higher June inflation data. The new tariffs are expected to add to price pressures, fueling concerns about further inflation. Traders are also cautious ahead of US employment data due later today. For the week, the index fell 3.5%, its first weekly decline in four weeks, amid concerns about slowing Chinese...
US stocks opened sharply lower in August, with all three major indexes falling more than 1%, as a weaker-than-expected jobs report fueled renewed concerns about the strength of the US labor market and the overall economy. Non-farm payrolls rose by just 73,000 in July, and employment figures for May and June were revised down by 258,000, adding to evidence that the labor market is slowing more rapidly than anticipated. The weaker data fueled expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates twice this year, with another cut likely in September. Market pressure intensified when President...
The European stock markets closed sharply lower in Friday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.8%, Germany's DAX dropped 2.5%, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7%, France's CAC decreased 2.9%, and the Swiss Market Index declined 0.8%. The annual inflation rate in the euro area was an estimated 2.0% in July, which is unchanged from June, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. Analysts had been expecting 1.9%, according to Bloomberg. Eurostat said food, alcohol, and tobacco are expected to have the highest annual rate in July at 3.3%, compared with 3.1% in...