(Hong Kong) On the final trading day of July, the Hang Seng Index opened 194 points, or 0.77%, lower at 24,982. The China Enterprises Index fell by 61 points, or 0.68%, to 8,976, while the Technology Index declined 31 points, or 0.58%, to 5,458. WuXi AppTec saw its share price drop 4% after a discounted share placement. Technology stocks broadly weakened, with Meituan leading the decline, falling 3.06%. Alibaba slipped 0.95%, Xiaomi Group dropped 0.82%, Trip.com Group eased 0.57%, and Tencent edged down 0.36%. Financial stocks also displayed weakness. HSBC Holdings extended its losses by...
Hong Kong stocks rose 266 points, or 1.3%, to 21,324 in early trade on Thursday, led by broad sector gains. The gains followed a weak session and came amid a surge in U.S. stock futures, following an overnight sell-off on Wall Street sparked by Fed Chair Powell's warning that trade tensions could threaten the Fed's inflation and employment targets. Meanwhile, mainland Chinese markets attempted to extend their four-day winning streak after better-than-expected Q1 GDP data. Additionally, reports suggested that Beijing was seeking specific steps from President Trump before agreeing to trade...
Asian stocks traded in a tight range and the yen weakened after US-Japan trade talks advanced, as investors adopt a wait-and-see approach to see how other tariff negotiations unfold. Japanese shares gained slightly after President Donald Trump said negotiators made "big progress" in talks to strike a deal to avoid higher levies. The yen weakened after the country's chief trade negotiator said currencies weren't discussed. Gold advanced to a record while Treasury yields and a gauge of the dollar inched up. The progress in discussions with Japan, "while preliminary, offer a...
Japanese stocks rose as some bargain hunting began following recent declines despite continued uncertainty over U.S. tariffs. Electronics and heavy industry shares led the gains. TDK rose 3.0% and Lasertec added 1.5% while Kawasaki Heavy Industries gained 2.4% and IHI added 1.4%. USD/JPY was at 142.28, compared with 142.36 at the close of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Investors were focused on tariff-related news ahead of the earnings season that starts next week. The Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.2% at 33,986.96. Source: Bloomberg
Wall Street faced a broad sell-off on Wednesday, led by a steep downturn in tech stocks as trade tensions escalated and investors digested cautious remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The S&P 500 lost 2.2%, the Dow dropped nearly 700 points, and the Nasdaq sank 3%. Nvidia plunging 6.9% after the chipmaker disclosed it would take a $5.5 billion charge due to new US export restrictions on its AI chips bound for China. Other chipmakers followed suit, with AMD (-7.3%) and Micron Technology (-2.4%) both falling on cost warnings and weak demand. Powell's speech in Chicago added...
European stocks trimmed early losses but still lower on Wednesday, pressured by pessimistic corporate earnings and persistent concerns that tariffs by the US government will erode growth for major economies. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 closed marginally below the flatline at 4,967 and the pan-European STOXX 600 dropped 0.2% to close at 507. ASML posted a decline in its revenues and noted that concerns surrounding the unpredictable economic policy in the US is likely to hit orders from its main clients, driving its share price to plunge by 5.2%. In the meantime, LVMH lost 1% to extend its...