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...
The Hang Seng fell 39 points, or 0.2%, to 19,241 on Thursday (1/9) after trading slightly higher in the morning, with losses in the financial and property sectors. The market ended lower for a fourth straight session after fresh data showed China's annual inflation rate hit a nine-month low of 0.1% in December while deflation in manufacturers continued for a 27th month. Cautious traders also digested details about Beijing's expanded consumer trade-in scheme amid drag from the property sector. Meanwhile, U.S. futures plunged, on growing concerns that there may be fewer interest rate cuts...
Japanese stocks fell after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Insurance, Financial Services and Mining sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.87%. The best performers on the Nikkei 225 were Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TYO:4519), which rose 3.53% or 237.00 points to trade at 6,954.00 at the close. Meanwhile, DIC Corp. (TYO:4631) gained 2.77% or 95.00 points to close at 3,520.00 and Nintendo Co Ltd. (TYO:7974) gained 2.43% or 216.00 points to 9,119.00 in late trade. The worst performers on the session were Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (TYO:9107),...
The Hang Seng dipped 168 points or 0.9% to close at 19,280 on Wednesday, falling for the third straight session and touching a six-week low as losses spread across sectors. Risk-averse sentiment prevailed as traders grappled with uncertainty over US interest rates and policies under incoming President Trump. Caution also persisted ahead of the March National People's Congress in China, with investors expecting limited policy action in the interim. Meanwhile, Chinese officials criticized Washington's decision this week to blacklist some tech firms from China over alleged military ties....
Asia-Pacific markets tumbled Thursday following a choppy session on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve meeting minutes signaled interest rates could stay higher for longer due to sticky inflation. Investors in Asia also await China's inflation data for December. Economists polled by Reuters expect growth in consumer prices to have remained near zero, while producer prices are estimated to have continued to slide.Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.14% and the Topix fell 0.29%.Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.63%.South Korea's Kospi index fell 0.1%, while the small-cap Kosdaq slid...
U.S. stocks ended Wednesday little changed, as major indexes failed to stray frar from the unchanged mark, with investors digesting the impact of two conflicting sets of jobs data and a report that said President-elect Donald Trump was mulling a national economic emergency declaration on inflation. The minutes of the Federal Reserve's Dec. 17-18 meeting showed on Wednesday that officials saw a rising risk that price pressures may remain sticky as policymakers began wrestling with the impact of policies expected from the incoming Trump administration. Market sentiment was fragile after a...
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...