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...
The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for November, a key measure of inflation, is due out on Wednesday at 13:30 GMT by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Markets are eagerly awaiting the release, as it could trigger significant swings in the US Dollar (USD) and influence the Federal Reserve's (Fed) plans for interest rates in the coming months. As per the CPI measure, US inflation is expected to rise at an annualized rate of 2.7% in November, slightly higher than the 2.6% growth reported in the previous month. Annual core CPI inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy...
President-elect Donald Trump has already signaled that trade tariffs are likely to form part of his political agenda, but against concerns that a tit-for-tat U.S.-EU trade spat could threaten a fresh wave of inflation, Citi argues that tariffs may prove deflationary in the Eurozone at a time when the economy is in the doldrums. "Even if the EU retaliates like-for-like with reciprocal tariffs, the HICP impact is likely negligible," Citi economists said in a recent note. Imports from the U.S. make up just over 10% of euro area goods imports, a quarter of which is energy but this is unlikely...
China's consumer inflation shrank more than expected in November as recent stimulus measures did little to offset a stubborn deflationary trend, while producer inflation also contracted. Consumer price index inflation fell 0.6% month-on-month in November, government data showed on Monday. That was lower than expectations for a 0.4% decline and worse than the 0.3% contraction seen in the previous month. CPI grew 0.2% year-on-year, lower than expectations for a 0.5% gain and weaker than the 0.3% growth seen in the previous month. The figures suggest that while some aspects of China's...
The unemployment rate in the United States went up to 4.2% in November of 2024 from 4.1% in the prior month, in line with market expectations. The number of unemployed individuals increased by 161,000 to 7.145 million, while employment levels decreased by 355,000 to 161.141 million. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate edged down to 62.5% from 62.6%, and the employment-population ratio fell to 59.8% from 60%. Source: Trading Economics
Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) in the US rose by 227,000 in November, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday. This reading came in above the market expectation of 200,000.
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...