President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Scott Bessent has declined consideration for Federal Reserve Chair while praising "both Kevins" - Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett - as "very good" candidates for the position. Speaking on CNBC, Trump reiterated his criticism that current Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been "too late to cut rates" and mentioned he has "two other people aside from the two Kevins in mind" for the position. The president warned he would impose a 35% tariff on European Union goods if the bloc "doesn't meet obligations" following recent trade deals with the EU and...
The Hang Seng Index started the day down by 95 points or 0.4%, closing at 23,505 points. The H-share index dropped by 33 points or 0.38%, settling at 8,550 points, while the tech index fell by 16 points or 0.32%, ending at 5,229 points. In the tech sector, Tencent saw a decrease of 0.5%, Alibaba dropped by 0.2%, Meituan fell by 0.5%, Xiaomi Group by 0.7%, JD.com by 0.8%, and Kuaishou by 0.5%. MINISO's performance faced a sharp decline of 14.7% following recent news. Among financial stocks, performances varied, with HSBC Holdings declining by 0.9%, AIA Group by 0.1%, China Ping An by 0.3%,...
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Friday as investors assess a slew of economic data from the region. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.47% to close at 37,160.47 and the Topix climbed 0.68% to close at 2,735.52. South Korea's Kospi traded flat to close at 2,592.09 while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.24% to end the trading day at 715.98. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.15% to close at 8,360.9. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index and mainland China's CSI 300 traded flat. The U.S. and China agreed to maintain communication following a call between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma...
The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.5% to around 37,350 while the broader Topix Index added 0.3% to 2,744 on Monday, extending gains from the previous session as market sentiment was buoyed by US President Donald Trump's decision to delay the implementation of 50% tariffs on the EU. A retreat in the safe-haven yen also supported Japanese shares by easing currency-related pressure on exporters. Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor the Bank of Japan's policy outlook, with expectations growing that the central bank will raise interest rates further in response to persistent inflation. Industrial...
US stocks slumped on Friday after Donald Trump escalated trade tensions by threatening tariffs on Apple and the European Union. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.9% and the Dow dropped 256 points. Apple shares plunged 3%, pushing its valuation below $3 trillion, after Trump demanded that iPhones sold in the US be made domestically or face 25% tariffs. He also proposed a 50% tariff on all EU imports starting June 1 as trade talks stalled, renewing concerns about protectionist policies. Technology stocks led the decline, with names such as Micron, Qualcomm and Nvidia...
European stocks closed sharply lower on Friday after US President Trump said he was recommending 50% tariffs on the European Union, potentially taking away demand from Europe's main export source. The eurozone STOXX 50 fell 1.9% to 5,322 and the pan-European STOXX 600 dropped to 545. Carmakers, luxury brands and textile producers led the losses due to their heavy reliance on US consumers, with Mercedes Benz, BMW, Stellantis, Hermes and Inditex down between 4.5% and 2%. Meanwhile, the possibility of retaliation by the European Commission weighed on banks, with Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit and...
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...
President Donald Trump said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told him he did not want to be nominated to replace Jerome Powell as the next chair of the Federal...