US stocks recovered from sharp early losses on Friday (November 14th), but closed flat to lower as investors bought back major technology stocks and reassessed the likelihood of a December interest rate cut. This left the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 largely stagnant, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 280 points lower. Nvidia, Microsoft, Oracle, and Palantir each rose between 1.1% and 2.4%, reversing some of Thursday's sharp declines in tech stocks. Meanwhile, defensive stocks lagged, with United Healthcare down 3.2% and Home Depot down 1.6%. Stock movements remained uneven, with...
Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 rising more than 1% to a new record, as investors reacted positively to the truce between Washington and Beijing following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two leaders reached a trade deal in their high-stakes meeting in South Korea on Thursday, easing tensions over rare earth elements that had threatened to escalate into a full-blown trade war. "Both sides appear to be preserving leverage for future negotiations by using these measures as bargaining chips," said...
Japanese stocks are higher as the yen weakens sharply following the Bank of Japan's decision to keep its policy rate unchanged on Thursday. Tech and electronics stocks are leading gains. SoftBank Group is up 2.6% and Sony Group is 3.0% higher. USD/JPY is at 153.89, up sharply from 153.04 as of Thursday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching any progress in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's policy steps to boost the economy. The Nikkei Stock Average is up 1.0% at 51826.46. Source: Bloomberg
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 closed 0.2% lower on Thursday as investors weighed central bank actions, corporate earnings, and mixed economic data. The ECB kept rates unchanged for a third consecutive meeting, noting that the inflation outlook remains broadly stable, while the Fed cut rates again but cautioned that further easing in December is not guaranteed. On the data front, Eurozone GDP grew 0.2% in Q3, exceeding expectations, though performance across major economies was uneven, with France and Spain posting strong growth, while Germany and Italy stagnated. Among corporates,...
Stocks were lower Thursday as investors digested a batch of Big Tech earnings, while a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 131 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 dipped 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8%. Megacap tech giants Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft each reported quarterly results after market close Wednesday. While Alphabet shares popped about 4% on the back of strong results, shares of Meta and Microsoft tumbled about 12% and nearly 2%, respectively. Investors grew worried about the increased...
The Hang Seng Index fell 63 points, or 0.2%, to 26,283 on Thursday (October 30th), reversing early gains and marking its second consecutive session of declines. Sentiment turned cautious despite China's Ministry of Commerce stating that Beijing and Washington had agreed to extend their temporary trade truce for another year following a meeting between US Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea. Traders noted that significant gaps remain, with a partial tariff rollback unlikely to help struggling Chinese exporters or reverse weak domestic consumer demand. Caution also grew ahead of...