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...
Stocks climbed Friday to kick off November as Amazon led big technology stocks into the green and traders looked past a disappointing jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 467 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1% and 1.3%, respectively. Amazon rallied more than 6% as strength in the cloud and advertising businesses propelled the ecommerce giant above Wall Street's earnings expectations. Intel popped 5.3% after exceeding analysts' forecasts for revenue and offering strong guidance. The two stocks improved sentiment following some notable earnings...
The Hang Seng added 189 points or 0.9% to end at 20,506 on the first trading day of the month, snapping a two-day decline as factory activity in China recovered last month. Beijing's recent stimulus measures began to show a positive impact ahead of next week's National People's Congress session, which could launch more initiatives. On the monetary front, the PBoC injected CNY 500 billion via reverse repos late Thursday to keep ample liquidity nearing year-end. Property, consumers, and financials drove the strength, with notable rises from Akeso Inc. (8.4%), Tencent Holdings (3.7%), and...
European equity markets are set for a positive open on Friday after three consecutive days of heavy selling, as sentiment is starting to stabilize. Investors continue to assess the region's economic outlook and monetary policy. Earlier this week, stocks faced pressure from disappointing earnings reports from major U.S. tech companies, which negatively impacted market sentiment. In addition, investors are preparing for the upcoming U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve's latest decision next week. On a more concerning note, data released on Thursday showed that inflation in the...
The Nikkei 225 index fell 2.63% to close at 38,054, while the broader Topix index dropped 1.9% to 2,644 on Friday, extending losses from the previous session and mirroring declines on Wall Street on disappointing corporate news from Microsoft and Meta Platforms. Local stocks also came under pressure as the yen rose following a less dovish statement from the Bank of Japan and signs of easing price pressures in the U.S. The stronger yen hurt the earnings outlook for Japan's export-heavy industries. Technology stocks were particularly hard hit, with significant losses for Advantest (-4.4%),...
The Hang Seng Index opened 0.3% higher at 20,376.93 in Hong Kong. Meituan contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.3%. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 3.1%. In early trading, 41 of 82 shares rose, while 37 fell; 3 of 4 sectors were higher, led by finance stocks. Source : Bloomberg
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...