The Nikkei 225 and Topix indexes rallied nearly 2% on Wednesday, with the latter reaching one-year highs after US President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with Japan that includes a 15% tariff on Japanese exports to the US. Trump also revealed that Japan will invest $550 billion into the US and open its markets to key American goods. The news sparked broad-based gains, led by Japanese automakers. Toyota Motor jumped 9.8%, Honda Motor rose 8.8%, and Nissan Motor climbed 9%. Financials, industrials, and consumer stocks also posted strong advances, reflecting optimism over improved...
European stocks recouped losses from earlier in the day to close flat, after bonds came off session lows and several companies delivered good earnings. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed 0.1% higher, having earlier shed as much as 0.8%. The losses came after Moody's Ratings stripped the US government of its top credit rating soured investor sentiment and trade tensions continued to weigh. While auto and energy shares lagged, telecoms, travel and leisure stocks made gains. A large quantity of European shares were also trading ex-dividend. Among individual stocks,...
US stocks were lower on Monday, with the S&P 500 down 1%, the Nasdaq falling 1.3%, and the Dow shedding around 280 points, as investors retreated from US assets amid growing concerns over the country's fiscal and economic outlook. The sell-off followed Moody's downgrade of the US credit rating from Aaa to Aa1 on Friday, citing rising government debt and a widening budget deficit. Adding to the pressure, a key congressional committee on Sunday approved President Trump's proposed tax-cut package, which includes hundreds of billions of dollars in new, unfunded tax reductions, deepening...
The Hang Seng ended little changed to end at 23,333 on Monday, swinging early drop amid gains mainly from consumer stocks. Sentiment improved after China's April factory activity showed strength despite rising U.S. tariffs. Meantime, new home prices in the mainland fell the least in 11 months, though it marked the 22nd straight monthly drop. Investors also awaited a scheduled call between U.S. President Trump and Russian Putin, hoping it could ease tensions over the war in Ukraine. Locally, Hong Kong's economy expanded 3.1% yoy in Q1 2025, in line with flash estimates and up from a revised...
The Nikkei fell 255 points or 0.7% to close at 37,499 after a flat performance in the prior session, while the broader Topix edged down almost 0.1%, marking its second consecutive subdued day. A sharp drop in U.S. futures rattled sentiment after Moody's downgrade of the U.S. credit outlook raised fears of a potential flight from U.S. assets. Meanwhile, the White House kept up trade pressure, with Treasury Secretary Bessent warning that partners would face maximum tariffs if they failed to negotiate "in good faith." Investors remained cautious, closely watching U.S.-Japan trade talks as...
European stocks dipped on Monday, snapping a five-week winning streak, as a surprise U.S. credit rating downgrade and weak economic data from China weighed on investor sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.5% by 0725 GMT, retreating from seven-week highs touched on Friday. U.S. stock index futures fell more than 1% and longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields rose after credit rating agency Moody's cut its ratings on the country's debt, citing concerns about the nation's growing $36 trillion debt pile. Euro zone government bond yields also edged higher. [GVD/EUR] Meanwhile,...