Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday he continues to believe the U.S. central bank should cut interest rates at the end of this month amid mounting risks to the economy and the strong likelihood that tariff-induced inflation will not drive a persistent rise in price pressures. "It makes sense to cut the FOMC's policy rate by 25 basis points two weeks from now," Waller told a gathering of the Money Marketeers of New York University. "I see the hard and soft data on economic activity and the labor market as consistent: The economy is still growing, but its momentum...
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...
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.2% to around 39,730, while the broader Topix index rose 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 Japanese exports beat expectations in December, while imports also showed positive growth. Notable gains were seen in major stocks, including...
Stocks climbed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 hitting a fresh all-time high, as technology shares such as Oracle and Nvidiarallied on artificial intelligence optimism and President Donald Trump's new term in office. The S&P 500 advanced 0.61% after hitting an intraday record of 6,100.81, exceeding the last milestone touched in December before the market pullback. The broad index closed at 6,086.37, slightly below its all-time closing high. The Nasdaq Composite popped 1.28% to 20,009.34, underscoring the outperformance of tech names. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 130.92...
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) continues to lean into the bullish on Wednesday, climbing around 100 points and inching towards 44,200 as equities tilt into the buy button. There aren't any particular reasons for a fresh bull run to kick off, but investors aren't finding any particular reason for a turn into the bearish side, either.After a campaign trail full of almost-daily threats of wide-sweeping tariffs on all of the US' trading partners, President Donald Trump's big plans for day-one tariffs have evaporated into the ether. Fresh threats of an ambiguous level of import tariffs...
Germany's DAX index closed at an all-time high on Wednesday for the second time this week as European equities were broadly higher. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.39% higher, while the DAX closed at a fresh record of 21,254 points, according to LSEG data. Sportswear giant Adidas helped boost the German index, with shares ending 6% higher after the company said sales grew by 19% in its fourth-quarter results after the market close on Tuesday. The athletic apparels maker said revenues were nearly 6 billion euros ($6.25 billion) in the last three months of 2024, stripping out currency...
According to a statement by the Federal Reserve (Fed), Fed Chair Jerome Powell met with United States (US) President Donald Trump on Thursday, where the head of the Fed reiterated that the Fed's...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its cash rate at 4.1% during its April meeting, holding borrowing costs unchanged after slashing 25 bps in the February meeting, aligning with market...