European markets closed in positive territory on Friday with London's FTSE 100 ending the session at a record high. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended Friday 0.68% higher, with nearly all sectors and all major bourses in the green. Mining stocks led the gains, with the sector up 2% after Bloomberg reported Glencore had been in talks with Rio Tinto to explore the industry's largest ever merger. Novo Nordisk was the one of biggest detractors sliding by 4.3%. The U.K.'s mining-heavy FTSE 100 index strengthened provisionally by 1.35% to surpass a record close above 8,500 points. The rise...
U.S. stocks rallied on Friday to close out a strong week on optimism over the health of the economy and path of interest rates as investors braced for a slew of policy changes under the incoming Trump administration. The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials registered their biggest weekly percentage gains since early November and the Nasdaq recorded its best since early December. Data this week allayed fears that inflation would resurge while expectations have grown that the Federal Reserve will bump up the timing and magnitude of rate hikes this year. The Commerce Department reported on Friday...
The Nikkei 225 jumped 1% to above 38,800 while the broader Topix index rose 1% to 2,706 on Monday , recovering losses from last week as investors prepared for Donald Trump's inauguration and braced for the potential impact of his policies. Domestic data revealed a surprise 3.4% month-on-month rise in Japanese machinery orders in November, defying market expectations for a 0.4% decline and marking the strongest growth in nine months. Looking ahead, markets are focused on the Bank of Japan's upcoming monetary policy decision, especially after hints from central bank officials about a...