European stocks closed lower for a third session amid persistent concerns about US tariffs. The Eurozone STOXX 50 index fell 1% to 5,288, and the pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.5% to 544. US Treasury Secretary Bessent noted that White House officials were prioritizing trade agreements they considered beneficial rather than rushing to reach a deal before the August 1 deadline, which could potentially pave the way for the imposition of 30% tariffs on the EU before negotiations conclude. Defense stocks were among the biggest decliners, with Rheinmetall, BAE Systems, and Thales falling...
European markets are expected to open in mixed territory Thursday, retreating from gains in the previous trading session as traders cheered a cooler-than-expected inflation print in the U.S. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 9 points higher at 8,306, Germany's DAX down 26 points at 20,595, France's CAC down 15 points at 7,475 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 8 points at 35,705, according to data from IG. Trading updates are set to come from Whitbread, Deliveroo and Richemont, while Rio Tinto releases its latest operational review. Data releases include German inflation figures and...
Shares in Hong Kong soared 319 points or 1.7% to 19,594 on Thursday morning session, holding their bullish momentum for the third session following an overnight rally on Wall Street on the back of an unexpected decline in US core inflation figures for December and robust bank earnings. Markets reached their highest level in a week, rebounding from a near 4-month low, touched last week, buoyed by robust gains across sectors. Li Ning surged nearly 3.0% after reclaiming the official sportswear partnership with the Chinese Olympic Committee. Additionally, UBTech Robotics climbed over 2% after...
Asia-Pacific markets climbed Thursday, after U.S. markets soared on the back of an unexpected decline in core inflation numbers in December and strong bank earnings.Korea's central bank surprised market watchers by keeping benchmark rates unchanged at 3%. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the Bank of Korea to cut its policy rate by 25 basis points.South Korea's Kospi was up 1.16% while the small-cap Kosdaq index was up 1.65%, following the announcement.Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was trading up 0.61% while the Topix gained 0.23%. Japan's annual producer price index climbed 3.8% in...
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.8% to around 38,750, while the broader Topix index gained 0.6% to 2,706 on Thursday, recovering some losses from earlier in the week and tracking a strong performance on Wall Street. U.S. stocks surged overnight, boosted by a surprise drop in core inflation and solid bank earnings. However, investors remained cautious about Japanese equities after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated on Wednesday that the central bank would discuss the possibility of raising interest rates at its next policy meeting next week. Meanwhile, data showed that Japanese producer...
Producer prices in Japan increased by 3.8% yoy in December 2024, keeping the same pace as in the previous month and aligning with market consensus. It was the 46th straight month of producer inflation, remaining at its highest level since June 2023, as cost continued to grow for transport equipment (1.7% vs 1.6% in November), beverages & foods (1.9% vs 2.1%), iron & steel (-0.1% vs -0.1%), electrical machinery (4.7% vs 4.1%), production machinery (1.8% vs 1.4%), general-purpose machinery (4.3% vs 4.3%), metal products (3.8% vs 4.0%), other manufacturing (3.6% vs 3.8%), plastics (3.6%...