Oil prices rose slightly in trading on Tuesday (January 20) after better-than-expected Chinese economic data boosted demand optimism. Brent crude rose 19 cents (0.3%) to $64.13/barrel, while February WTI which expires today rose 25 cents (0.4%) to $59.69/barrel. The more active March WTI contract also edged higher to around $59.42/barrel. This strengthening was driven by news from China, the world's largest oil importer. The Chinese economy reportedly grew 5.0% through 2025, meeting the government's target. Refinery activity also increased, with refinery throughput rising 4.1% and crude oil...
US stocks rebounded from early losses to close mostly higher on Friday amid hopes that Congress members were making progress toward ending the government shutdown. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones closed 0.3% higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed near the flatline as AI giants remained under pressure. Senate Republicans rejected Democrats' offer to scale down shutdown demands, but lingering hopes of an incoming agreement improved risk sentiment before the closing bell. The suspension of operations and government data were evidenced by the deteriorating consumer confidence measured by...
European stocks fell on Friday as investors digested more quarterly earnings, but weekly losses were inevitable, with concerns regarding overheated valuations evident. The DAX index in Germany dropped 0.8% and the CAC 40 in France declined 0.2%, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.6%. Despite the decline, sentiment had earlier been generally been supported by a healthy earnings season, with European firms expected to report growth of 4.3% in third-quarter earnings, on average, data from LSEG showed earlier this week, above the 0.4% increase analysts expected a week ago. There are more...
Hong Kong stocks were back in the red Friday as markets digested news of a softening U.S. job market and an unexpected decline in China's export figures. The Hang Seng Index decreased by around 244.07 points, or roughly 0.9%, to end at 26,241.83. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell around 88.41 points, or 0.9%, to 9,267.56. China's exports in October slipped 1.1% year on year in US dollar terms to $305.4 billion, missing a consensus estimate of a 2.9% increase, according to a Bloomberg survey, the South China Morning Post reported. The contraction could signal a worsening outlook...
European markets opened higher on Friday (November 7th), recovering some of the previous session's losses amid concerns about an AI bubble. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.2% in early trading. France's CAC index rose 0.27%, Italy's FTSE MIB rose 0.4%, and Germany's DAX rose 0.4%. However, the UK's FTSE 100 reversed course and traded 0.2% lower. (alg) Source: CNBC
The Nikkei closed lower on Friday (November 7), down around 1.4% to 50,186.27 as the yen strengthened and global technology stocks continued to be under pressure. Semiconductor-related stocks led the decline: Renesas -3.9%, Advantest -6.1%, while SoftBank Group slumped 7.3%. In the forex market, USD/JPY weakened to around 152.95 from 153.87, weighing on the outlook for Japanese exporters and adding to sentiment. From a fundamental perspective, global risk-off due to concerns about AI valuations and signs of a weakening US job market have kept investors on the defensive. Domestic focus is on...