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...
Hong Kong stocks jumped 177 points, or 0.9%, to 19,874 in early trading on Wednesday, marking their first gain in four sessions. The gains were supported by a small rise in U.S. stock futures ahead of an anticipated Fed rate cut later in the day. The market moved away from its lowest level in more than a week, hit a day earlier, with all sectors gaining, especially technology and consumer discretionary. Source: Trading Economics
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Wednesday, following losses on Wall Street that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average down for a ninth straight day. Investors in Asia were assessing trade data from Japan ahead of the Bank of Japan's interest rate decision later this week. The country's exports grew 3.8% in November year-on-year, beating economists polled by Reuters' forecasts for a 2.8% increase. Imports, meanwhile, fell 3.8%, well below expectations for a 1% expansion. The figures put Japan's trade balance in deficit at 117.6 billion yen ($765.2 million), higher than expectations...
Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell for a fourth day on Wednesday as investors remained cautious ahead of monetary policy decisions by the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan. A decline in U.S. semiconductor stocks also dragged on the market. The Nikkei index was down 0.2 percent at 39,275.88 as of 9:07 a.m. in Tokyo The Topix index was little changed at 2,726.90 Of the 2,126 stocks in the index, 819 rose and 1,132 fell, while 175 were unchanged If the market starts to reduce expectations for a Fed rate cut next year, it's hard to predict how U.S. stocks will react, weighing on Japanese...
US stock index futures fell, causing a rally in leading technology stocks to pause, as investors await a raft of economic data and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. Futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.3% at 5:42 a.m. in New York, while tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed after the index posted back-to-back records. CNH Industrial shares edged up in premarket trading after the machine-tool company was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley, which forecast that 2025 will provide clarity on the major equipment cycle. The US stock rally...
The Hang Seng lost 95 points or 0.5% to finish at 19,700 on Tuesday, down for the third session amid a steep decline in US futures following a record close on Wall Street Nasdaq, ahead of an anticipated interest rate reduction from the Fed Wednesday. The index hits its lowest level in over a week, weighed by the third straight session of losses in Chinese markets and vigilance before the PBoC's monthly review of key lending rates later this week, after record low levels in November. Further declines were limited by a report from Reuters that China plans a record top budget deficit of 4% in...
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...