Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Wednesday, following gains on Wall Street ahead of a potential U.S. government shutdown as lawmakers continue to wrangle over details of a second temporary spending bill. Investors in Asia will look toward the Reserve Bank of India's rate decision late Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 sunk 0.2% at its open, while the broad based Topix was down 0.85%. In South Korea, the blue-chip Kospi was up 0.94%, and the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.84%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.32% in early trade. Markets on mainland China and Hong Kong were closed for a...
European stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday, tracking a broad selloff in global equities amid the rise in long-term borrowing costs, while markets parsed the latest inflation data. The annual inflation rate in the Eurozone inched higher to 2.1%, while the core rate refrained from dropping for a third month to stoke lingering concerns of stubborn services inflation. The data coincided with a fresh record in European bond issuance in one session amid major sales in the UK and Italy, adding strain to long-dated securities. The tight credit conditions pressured the heavyweight banking...
US stocks remained weak on Tuesday, tracking a global equity decline amid growing concerns about the overvalued technology sector and unsustainable fiscal conditions. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell more than 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 400 points. Nvidia and Qualcomm both fell 3% due to lingering skepticism about future returns from artificial intelligence technology, prompting investors to reconsider their large positions in software and hardware companies. Meanwhile, long-term bonds slumped amid concerns about overly expansionary fiscal policy supported by the...
The Hang Seng Index fell 121 points, or 0.5%, to close at 25,497 on Tuesday, after surging 2% in the previous session amid a sharp decline in US index futures ahead of the August jobs report and concerns over aggressive US trade policy. Technology stocks led the decline as traders took profits after a sharp rally in AI-related stocks. Property and consumer discretionary stocks also weakened, mirroring the weakness in mainland Chinese equities after three days of gains. The decline was partly offset by positive Chinese manufacturing growth in August, according to a private...
Stocks in Europe were little changed on Tuesday, with the STOXX 50 hovering around the flatline and the STOXX 600 slipping 0.2% after modest gains in the previous session. Investors are awaiting the release of Eurozone inflation data later today for fresh clues on how tariffs are influencing prices and what this could mean for the ECB's monetary policy outlook. Inflation is expected to hold steady at 2% in August. The central bank is widely anticipated to keep interest rates unchanged next week before resuming cuts in the autumn. On the corporate front, Nestlé shares dropped 2.7% following...
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Real Estate, Banking and Textile sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.35%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. (TYO:3099), which rose 5.93% or 149.50 points to trade at 2,670.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Kirin Holdings Co., Ltd. (TYO:2503) added 5.38% or 116.50 points to end at 2,280.00 and Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (TYO:5706) was up 4.80% or 490.00 points to 10,705.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were...