Asia-Pacific markets traded higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.41% after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Topix added 0.61%. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.83%, and the small-cap Kosdaq jumped 0.65%. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 0.41%. Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 26,464, higher than its last close of 26,086.32. Equities in several parts of the world have been rallying as easing inflation pressures and expectations for U.S. rate cuts boost investor sentiment. "Momentum and the promise of...
Euro zone policymakers cut rates last month to prevent an unwarrented tightening of monetary conditions and in the face of elevated uncertainty around trade, the accounts of their June 3-5 meeting showed on Thursday. The ECB cut interest rates for the eighth time in a year last month but signalled a pause in any further easing as inflation is already back at target and erratic U.S. trade policy creates too much uncertainty. "Members underlined that the outlook for the global economy remained highly uncertain," ," the ECB said. "Elevated trade uncertainty was likely to prevail for some time...
Bill Pulte, who heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is asking Congress to investigate Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, alleging that his recent testimony to the Senate about the central bank's plans to renovate its headquarters was "deceptive." "I am asking Congress to investigate Chairman Jerome Powell, his political bias, and his deceptive testimony in the Senate, which was enough to be removed 'for some reason,'" Pulte said Wednesday in a post on the social media platform X, alleging that Powell made inaccurate statements without providing evidence. Pulte has stepped up his...
ADP Employment Change report to show gains in June US job growthThis week, the US labour market is set to take centre stage, adding to the combo of factors driving market sentiment as of late, namely mitigated geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, rising hopes of further progress on the trade front and prospects of the resurgence of Fed easing in Q3, as well as the renewed animosity from President Donald Trump toward Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell. Despite concerns about a potential economic slowdown in the US economy having not dissipated, they seem to have been put on the...
US-based employers announced 47,999 job cuts in June 2025, the lowest so far this year, compared to 93,816 in May and 48,786 a year earlier. "The bulk of companies cited economic conditions last month. We saw some DOGE activity and have tracked over 2,000 jobs directly attributed to tariffs this year, but for the most part it was a quiet June," said Andrew Challenger, Senior VP for Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The consumer products sector cut the most jobs (9,500), followed by services (4,463), financial (4,164), health care (4,068), retail (4,063) and government (3,801). Considering...
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by September, and that President Donald Trump's trade tariffs were unlikely to stoke inflation as feared by the central bank. Speaking on Fox News' Ingraham Angle, Bessent said it was "bewildering" to him that the Fed had not cut interest rates in the face of President Donald Trump's trade tariffs, especially given that the central bank lowered its growth forecast. "I think that the criteria is that tariffs were not inflationary. If they're going to follow that criteria, I think that they could do it...
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.41% after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Topix added 0.61%. South...
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...
Less than four months ago, President Donald Trump met with Qatar's leader, praised his magnificent palace, and signed a comprehensive defense agreement with the Gulf monarchy, a key ally that hosts...