The U.S. and Russia are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Moscow's occupation of territory seized during its military invasion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. U.S. and Russian officials are working towards an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the report said, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. A White House official said the Bloomberg story was speculation. A Kremlin spokesperson did not respond to a request for...
The Hang Seng fell 78 points, or 0.4%, to close at 19,700 on Thursday, reversing its morning gains amid looming tariff risks and concerns over China's sluggish economic momentum. Meanwhile, U.S. index futures fell after Wall Street's S&P 500 neared an all-time high on Wednesday following President Trump's move to boost spending on AI. Most sectors ended up losing ground, especially technology, consumer discretionary and property. In contrast, financials rose after China's securities regulator encouraged local insurers and mutual funds to boost their equity holdings. Earlier this month,...
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.2% to around 39,730, while the broader Topix index gained 0.05% to 2,738 on Thursday, marking the fourth straight session of gains for Japanese stocks. However, caution prevailed as the Bank of Japan began its two-day policy meeting. The central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates and revise its inflation forecast higher on Friday, following hawkish remarks from senior BOJ officials. Meanwhile, data showed that Japan's exports beat expectations in December, while imports also showed positive growth. Notable gains were seen in major stocks, including...
China stocks rose on Thursday, with the Shanghai Composite up 1.4% to around 3,260 and the Shenzhen Component up 0.6% to 10,290, recouping losses from earlier in the week as Beijing stepped up support for the struggling stock market. On Wednesday, China unveiled a new plan led by its top financial regulator, urging state-owned insurers to increase their investments in Chinese A-shares and equity funds, while also encouraging mutual funds to raise capital for stock investments. Wu Qing, head of the CSRC, said the plan would inject hundreds of billions of yuan in new capital each year. Earlier...
Hong Kong shares rose 38 points, or 0.2%, to 18,818 in early trade on Thursday after a downbeat session the previous day, helped mainly by gains in the financial and technology sectors. Traders enthusiastically responded to China's latest move to turn around its sluggish stock market by encouraging insurance funds to increase the size and proportion of their investments in Chinese A-shares, or mainland-traded companies, and equity funds. The initiative could bring in at least hundreds of billions of yuan in new capital each year from state-owned insurers, the China Securities Regulatory...
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Thursday (1/23) as investors digested a slew of economic data in the region. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.42% lower at the open. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.38% at the open, while the Topix gained 0.25%. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.21% and the Kosdaq traded 0.13% lower at the open. South Korea's economy grew 1.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, marking its slowest expansion since the second quarter of 2023. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index futures were at 19,924, higher than the HSI's last close of 19,778.77. Singapore is expected to report inflation...
China's official NBS Manufacturing PMI increased to 49.7 in June 2025 from May's 49.5, matching market expectations while marking the third consecutive month of contraction in factory activity.
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Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new U.S. weapons and aircraft, according to three Indian officials familiar with the matter, in India's first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs...