The Hang Seng Index started the day with a decline of 135 points, or 0.53%, settling at 25,531 points. The China Enterprises Index dropped 41 points, or 0.45%, to 9,216 points, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 29 points, or 0.51%, to 5,713 points. Technology stocks faced downward pressure, with Kuaishou sliding by 1.57%, Alibaba dropping 1%, Tencent falling 0.9%, and Trip.com Group losing 0.39%. Xiaomi Group recorded a marginal decline of 0.09%, while Meituan remained unchanged. Financial stocks showed a mixed trend. AIA Group saw the largest drop, down 1.89%, followed by Ping An...
European stocks edged higher on Thursday, with the Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 both up around 0.5%, extending gains from the past five sessions despite sectoral volatility. Banking and travel stocks led with over 2% gains, while oil and gas stocks dipped 0.4%. In France, markets remained steady despite political upheaval, as the CAC 40 rose 0.4% to its highest since mid-November after Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government fell to a no-confidence vote. Analysts noted no immediate risk of a government shutdown, easing investor concerns. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority...
Wall Street was set for a muted open on Thursday following record highs for all three main indexes in the previous session, as investors awaited upcoming employment data later this week. The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the blue-chip Dow clocked record closing highs on Wednesday as technology shares rallied after upbeat results from companies including and Marvell Technology. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appeared to signal support for a slower pace of interest-rate cuts ahead when he spoke on Wednesday, saying the economy was stronger at this point than the central bank had...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 opened flat but quickly turned positive on Thursday (5/12), with the former up 0.5% and the latter up 0.3%, as traders appeared to shrug off concerns over the political situation in France. The government collapsed as anticipated after right-wing and left-wing lawmakers united to pass a no-confidence motion and President Macron now needs to find a new Prime Minister, although the task is expected to be very challenging. French stocks were actually among the best performers, with Societe Generale (2.5%), BNP Paribas (1.9%), Engie (1.2%). Meanwhile, traders...
The Hang Seng plunged 182 points, or 0.9%, to close at 19,560 on Thursday after a sluggish session the previous day, weighed down by losses across sectors. Investor jitters grew over China's policy outlook ahead of next week's central economic work forum and Politburo meeting. U.S.-China technology restrictions and concerns about additional trade disputes also rattled markets. Some economists warned that China's recovery momentum during Q4 could slow in H1 2025, partly due to the impact of the new U.S. administration. Political turmoil in South Korea and France further contributed to...
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3% to close at 39,395 while the broader Topix index edged up 0.06% to 2,742 on Thursday, extending this week's rally and tracking gains on Wall Street overnight where the three major U.S. indexes settled at fresh record highs. The advances were driven by strong corporate earnings and optimism around the artificial intelligence boom, with major U.S. tech companies highlighting the significant boost they are receiving from the sector. In Japan, investors continued to focus on the outlook for monetary policy, with market sentiment divided on the timing of the Bank...