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...
The Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.21% to close at 39,849 while the broader Topix index jumped 0.86% to 2,773 on Thursday, with Japanese shares hitting a multi-month high and tracking a rally on Wall Street overnight after U.S. inflation data appeared to pave the way for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. Markets are now pricing in a near 100% chance that the Fed will deliver another 25 basis point cut next week. Meanwhile, the outlook for Bank of Japan monetary policy remains highly uncertain, with markets divided over whether the central bank will raise rates again in December or January. All...
European equity markets were poised to open little changed on Thursday as investors awaited the European Central Bank's latest monetary policy decision. The ECB is widely expected to implement another 25 basis point rate cut, with traders also focusing on its quarterly growth and inflation projections. The Swiss National Bank is also anticipated to announce another rate cut. Meanwhile, the latest US inflation data came in line with expectations, setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs further next week. In premarket trade, Euro Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 futures...
Hong Kong stocks rose 61 points, or 0.3%, to 20,214 in early trade on Thursday, snapping losses from the previous two sessions. The gains followed the Nasdaq's overnight rise to a record high, with soft U.S. inflation in November strengthening bets for a Fed rate cut later this month. Meanwhile, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration in Washington next month, CBS News said. Traders were keeping an eye on China's two-day Central Economic Work Conference that is expected to set policy for next year, following a stimulus signal from...
Asia-Pacific opened higher Wednesday, following gains on Wall Street that saw the Nasdaq Composite surge to record highs after November's inflation report met expectations. Traders in Asia assessed jobs data from Australia, which showed the country's unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% in November from 4.1% the month prior. A poll of economists from Reuters had expected the rate to rise to 4.2%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was trading 0.1% higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.7% at market open, while the Topix gained 1.3%. South Korea's Kospi index opened up 1%, while the small-cap Kosdaq...
The Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.01% to close at 39,372 on Wednesday, ending almost flat after weak signals from Wall Street overnight, as investors braced for a key US inflation report. Market sentiment was also affected by mixed economic data from Japan. The Reuters Tankan index turned negative in December, while the BSI manufacturing sentiment reading showed improvement in the fourth quarter. Additionally, data revealed that Japanese producer prices rose at the fastest pace in 16 months in November. Notable performers were index heavyweights Kawasaki Heavy (+10.3%), IHI Corp (6.3%) and...