European stocks finished the session firmly higher, with the Euro STOXX 50 rising 0.7% and the STOXX Europe 600 gaining 0.8%, extending a rebound from Friday's tech-led selloff as investors looked past near-term volatility. Gains were broad-based, though the defense sector came under pressure after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaled Ukraine's willingness to drop its long-standing bid for NATO membership in exchange for alternative security guarantees, a shift that raised hopes for progress in peace talks resuming in Berlin. Shares of Rheinmetall fell 2.6%, with Hensoldt and Renk also...
European shares inched lower on Wednesday, as investors refrained from placing big bets ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, while also parsing through a slate of corporate updates. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.1% at 577.43 by 0808 GMT, on track for its fourth session of declines. Major regional benchmarks also dipped, with the ones in Germany and Spain down 0.1% each. France's CAC 40 also lost 0.1% after lawmakers narrowly approved the 2026 social security budget on Tuesday, handing the government a victory but at a political and financial...
The Hang Seng rose 106 points or 0.4% to close at 25,541 on Wednesday, rebounding from morning losses and closing in the green for the first time in three sessions as most sectors gained. Sentiment improved as traders anticipated a third straight rate cut from the U.S. Fed later today, along with rate projections through 2026 in the "dot plot." Markets also looked ahead to guidance from the upcoming Central Economic Work Conference in China, which is expected to emphasize a more proactive fiscal stance alongside moderately accommodative monetary support. Fresh data showed China's annual...
Japanese stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 index down 0.1%, or 52.30 points, to 50,602.80. This weakening occurred ahead of the Fed's important decision, while the yen had fallen sharply overnight before stabilizing around 156.64 per dollar. The market currently rates the chance of a 25-bps Fed rate cut to a range of 3.50%–3.75% at 89%, but sees only a small chance of a further cut in January due to expectations of hawkish guidance. Data-wise, Japanese producer prices rose 0.3% in November, driven by the energy and metals sectors. Export prices rose slightly,...
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index weakened again for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, falling 0.5% to 25,382.56 in the morning session. Sentiment was weighed down by investor concerns as they awaited signals on the direction of the Fed's interest rate policy next year, following Wall Street's sluggish overnight performance. Selling pressure was also felt in other indices: the Hang Seng Tech Index fell slightly by 0.1%, the CSI 300 in mainland China fell 0.7%, and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%. Large stocks such as WuXi AppTec, NetEase, and Kuaishou all fell around 1.6%-1.9%. One major...
Asian stock markets moved up slightly at the start of Wednesday's session, after Wall Street's sluggish overnight close, closing almost flat. Benchmark indexes in Australia and Japan rose slightly, while US stock futures barely moved. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks listed in the US actually fell around 1.4% due to the market's disappointment at the lack of stimulus signals from the Chinese Communist Party leadership meeting. In the bond market, the 10-year US Treasury yield held around 4.18% after a debt auction on Tuesday. The dollar index moved flat, and Bitcoin briefly reversed its initial...