European equity markets extended their rally on the first trading day of 2026, with benchmark indices pushing to fresh record highs despite thin liquidity following the New Year holiday. Gains were led by defense stocks, underpinned by persistent geopolitical tensions and expectations of increased military spending across the region. The STOXX 50 climbed 0.7% to a new all-time high of 5,830 points, while the broader STOXX 600 rose 0.4% to a record 595 points. The strong start to the year follows a robust performance in 2025, when the STOXX 50 advanced about 18% and the STOXX 600 rose 17%,...
The Nikkei 225 jumped 2.12% to close at 52,411, while the broader Topix Index rose 0.94% to 3,332 on Friday, with Japanese stocks hitting fresh record highs amid a strong rally in technology shares. The advance followed gains in US stock futures after upbeat earnings and sales forecasts from Apple and Amazon lifted sentiment across the tech sector. Among top performers, Advantest gained 3.9%, SoftBank Group 2.9%, and Fujikura 1.8%. Hitachi also surged 7.2% after reporting a 62% jump in first-half net income, while Socionext soared 16.7% on strong results. In contrast, Nissan Motor tumbled...
The Hang Seng Index plunged 376 points, or 1.4%, to close at 25,907 on Friday, marking its third consecutive session of decline amid widespread declines across sectors. Market sentiment weakened after China's official PMI showed manufacturing activity contracted at its fastest pace in six months in October, while service sector growth remained weak. Meanwhile, the temporary US-China trade truce failed to boost confidence, with investors viewing it as a short-term respite rather than a meaningful breakthrough. Further pressure came after US Federal Reserve Chairman Powell signaled that a...
European stocks edged lower on Friday (October 31st), with the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 down 0.1%, as corporate earnings remained in focus and investors continued to assess the impact of the recent US-China trade truce. Among the stocks moving, Electrolux was one of the worst performers, falling more than 2.8% after a strong rally in the previous session. Saint-Gobain extended its losses, falling more than 2%, while ASML Holding (-0.8%) and Shell (-1.3%) also traded lower. Conversely, Anheuser-Busch (2%) was among the gainers. (alg) Source: Trading Economics
The Nikkei 225 index closed higher on Thursday (October 31, 2025), driven by strong gains in technology and electronics stocks. Positive sentiment emerged after the Bank of Japan maintained its policy interest rate, while a weaker yen boosted the profit prospects of export-based issuers. Large-cap stocks, including chip, electronics, and internet stocks, led the gains. Investors also assessed the easing of US-China trade tensions following the Trump-Xi meeting, which boosted risk appetite despite not providing long-term certainty. Overall, the Nikkei closed up around 1% and held at 52.4....
The Hang Seng Index opened slightly lower by 0.07% to 26,263 on Friday (October 31st), moving flat after a 0.2% decline in the previous session to 26,283. This cautious movement occurred amid mixed sentiment: some technology stocks weakened, while the market digested news of a US-China trade truce that had not yet fully boosted risk appetite. Data-wise, China's manufacturing PMI contracted again in October, signaling continued pressure on the factory sector and curbing the Hong Kong stock market rally. Meanwhile, Asian market analysts noted that regional stocks are likely to strengthen this...