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 higher on Tuesday after all three major benchmarks on Wall Street rose on a tech rally. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index opened the day up 1.04%, while the broader Topix index gained 1.14%. In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 0.39% at the open, while the small-cap Kosdaq index fell 0.32%. Meanwhile, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.15% in early trade. Futures on Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were at 21,585, indicating a stronger open compared with the HSI's last close of 21,417.40. India is expected to release March inflation figures later in the day....
Stocks rose in a choppy session on Monday, helped by a rally in tech names following a surprise U.S. tariff exemption from President Donald Trump. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 312.08 points, or 0.78%, to close at 40,524.79. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.64% to end at 16,831.48, while the S&P 500 added 0.79% and settled at 5,405.97. All three indexes at times traded in negative territory during the turbulent session. Investors cheered Trump's exemption of smartphones and computers, as well as other devices and components such as semiconductors, from his new "reciprocal" tariffs,...
US stocks were higher on Monday as markets reconsidered concerns around uncertain trade policy passed by the Trump Presidential administration. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained over 1% each and the Dow was 350 points higher. The White House paused the aggressive tariffs on computers and electronics from their reciprocal tariff package, including those on China, but Trump clarified that the temporary relief was only announced because sector-specific tariffs on computers and semiconductors will be placed shortly after. The moves extended the constantly-changing trade policy that has...
The Hang Seng jumped 503 points or 2.4% to end at 21,417 on Monday, marking its second straight session of gains and the highest close in two months. Broad-based buying boosted sentiment, with the tech sector up 2.3%, after the Trump administration granted tariff exclusions on tech goods —most of which are imported from China. Traders largely ignored the possibility that new US tariffs, including on chips, may be imposed in the coming weeks or months. Optimism was also supported by Beijing's ongoing efforts to calm its domestic markets, including a cap on daily net sales by individual...
European stocks started the week on a strong note, with the STOXX 50 climbing 2.1% and the STOXX 600 gaining 1.9%, as traders reacted positively to President Trump's late-Friday announcement of a temporary pause on reciprocal tariffs for a range of tech and consumer electronics. The pause includes the baseline 10% tariff on all countries although a 20% tariff on Chinese goods remains in effect. Trump also said he will still apply tariffs to phones, computers and popular consumer electronics and that details on a tariff rate for semiconductors would be announced soon. Leading the gains were...
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...