The Hang Seng closed almost flat at 24,911 on Wednesday after dipping slightly in morning deals. Traders digested comments from President Trump, who said the U.S. was close to a trade deal with China and that he would meet President Xi before year-end if an agreement is reached. Investors also looked ahead to key Chinese economic data, including trade figures on Thursday and inflation on Saturday, amid concerns over rising trade barriers and persistent deflation risks. At the same time, markets braced for a possible new U.S. tariff announcement targeting semiconductors and chips, expected...
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Shipbuilding, Manufacturing and Services sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.51%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Mercari Inc (TYO:4385), which rose 7.45% or 182.50 points to trade at 2,633.50 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (TYO:8306) added 5.72% or 120.50 points to end at 2,226.00 and DeNA Co Ltd (TYO:2432) was up 4.08% or 137.00 points to 3,497.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436),...
Hong Kong stocks lost 283 points or 1.2 to 23,929 in Friday morning trade, marking their second straight session of decline as all sectors retreated. Sentiment remained weak following a drop on Wall Street overnight, as traders cautiously digested the latest U.S. economic data amid concerns over President Trump's tariffs. Meanwhile, uncertainty over the timing and scale of Beijing's latest plan to boost consumption prompted investors to move away from riskier assets. Among the early laggards were CK Asset Holdings (-5.7%), KE Holdings (-3.7%), Innovent Biologics (-3.6%), and Semiconductor...
The Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.5% to surpass 37,900, while the broader Topix Index rose 0.4% to 2,807 in post-holiday trade on Friday. Japanese stocks advanced as they caught up with global market gains, following the US Federal Reserve's signal of two interest rate cuts this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also reassured markets that tariff-driven inflation is likely "transitory." Both the Nikkei and Topix are on track to climb over 2% and 3%, respectively, for the week. In economic data, Japan's core inflation slowed to 3% in February from 3.2% in January but still exceeded forecasts of...
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed, as Wall Street losses and uncertainty around the U.S. economy continued to weigh on equities. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.12% higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.34% while the Topix added 0.27%. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.16% while the small-cap Kosdaq dipped 0.86%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 24,065 also weaker than the HSI's last close of 24,219.95. Japan's headline inflation rose 3.7% year on year in February, easing from a two-year high of 4% seen in January. U.S. stock futures traded around the flatline after an attempt...
The S&P 500 ticked lower on Thursday as uncertainty around the U.S. economy continued to weigh on equities, thwarting the market's attempts at recovery from a monthlong rout. The broad market index pulled back 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.3%, as Apple shares sank about 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around the flatline. Shares of Alphabet saw declines, weighing on the market. Meta Platforms and Nvidia, however, were outliers among the "Magnificent Seven" stocks, each rising almost 1%. The moves comes a day after the latest Federal Reserve meeting, at which...