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 Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.2% to around 38,300, while the broader Topix Index advanced 0.3% to 2,700 on Tuesday, recovering some of the losses from the previous session, helped by gains in heavyweight bank stocks. Japanese shares also took cues from a positive lead on Wall Street, where both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite halted their recent declines. In comments on Monday, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda signaled that the central bank would raise interest rates gradually if the economy develops as expected, though he provided no specific timeline for future hikes. Investors are...
Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street gains buoyed by a Tesla rally, and as investors wait to watch key Chinese financial policymakers speak at an investment summit in Hong Kong. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.53% higher in its first hour of trade. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.68%, while the Topix rose 0.65%. South Korea's Kospi and Kosdaq traded around the flatline. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 19,766, higher than the HSI's last close of 19,576.61. The Reserve Bank of Australia will publish the minutes from its monetary policy meeting...
European markets were lower on Monday, with investors turning their attention to regional inflation data and to Nvidia earnings due this week. The pan European Stoxx 600 was down 0.38% at 2:40 p.m. London time, with major regional bourses and sectors mostly pulling back. Retail stocks led losses, down 1.17%, while oil and gas stocks added 0.36%.Markets had closed lower on Friday, with the Stoxx 600 recording its fourth consecutive weekly decline. This week, investors will be looking to several key regional data points, including the latest inflation data out of the U.K. on Wednesday. The...
The Nasdaq Composite rallied Monday as Tesla shares surged and Wall Street braced for major market-moving earnings reports. The Nasdaq advanced 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 60 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1%. Tesla spearheaded the tech-heavy index's rally, popping 8% amid a Bloomberg News report, citing sources, that President-elect Donald Trump's team is working on ways to ease regulation on self-driving vehicles. Elsewhere, Apple and Netflix rose about 2%, while Advanced Micro Devices surged nearly 4%. Wednesday's report from the AI chip darling...
The Hang Seng rose 150 points or 0.8% to close at 19,577 on Monday, breaking a six-session of losses after China urged listed companies to lift share prices through mergers and acquisitions, employee stock schemes, cash dividends, and share buybacks. However, the index trimmed early rises following Morgan Stanley's downgrade of Hong Kong shares to "underweight" from "market weight". Most sectors advanced, notably financials, consumers, and tech. Geely Auto jumped 4.4% after Jefferies kept a "buy" rating, citing restructuring efforts to improve efficiencies. Some traders were cautious ahead...
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...