European equity markets extended their rally on the first trading day of 2026, with benchmark indices pushing to fresh record highs despite thin liquidity following the New Year holiday. Gains were led by defense stocks, underpinned by persistent geopolitical tensions and expectations of increased military spending across the region. The STOXX 50 climbed 0.7% to a new all-time high of 5,830 points, while the broader STOXX 600 rose 0.4% to a record 595 points. The strong start to the year follows a robust performance in 2025, when the STOXX 50 advanced about 18% and the STOXX 600 rose 17%,...
Hong Kong stocks surged 259 points, or 1.3%, to 20,143 during Tuesday morning trade, marking a second straight session of gains. The gains followed a rally in U.S. tech stocks that boosted Wall Street overnight. The Hang Seng hit its highest level in more than a week, with gains across all sectors as mainland markets reversed losses from the previous session. Investors eagerly increased their positions following reports that U.S. President-elect Trump said in a speech that he opposed the idea of popular social media app TikTok leaving the U.S. market. Further gains were capped by a...
The Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.2% higher at 3,358.35 in Shanghai. Bank of China Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.8%. Jilin Joinature Polymer Co. had the largest increase, rising 13.8%. In early trading, 1,376 of 2,240 shares rose, while 789 fell; 4 of 5 sectors were higher, led by industrial stocks. Source: Bloomberg
Japan's stocks fluctuate as semiconductor-related companies followed their US peers higher, while real estate names and other firms dependent on domestic demand fell. Topix rose 0.1% to 2,729.71 as of 9:17 a.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 advanced 0.1% to 39,215.63 In a thin US trading session at the start of a holiday-shortened week, the S&P 500 finished near session highs. Honda Motor contributed the most to the Topix's gain, increasing 13% after announcing it will buy back as much as ¥1.1 trillion of shares. Honda has sketched plans for a deal that amounts to an acquisition of Nissan...
Shares in Asia traded in a tight range amid relatively thin holiday trading after a rally in some of the world's biggest technology companies boosted U.S. benchmarks. Stocks swung between gains and losses in Japan and were slightly lower in Australia, with sessions shortened in Hong Kong and Sydney for Christmas Eve. U.S. stock futures were little changed after Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. pushed the "Magnificent Seven" megacap benchmark up 1.4% on Monday, helping the S&P 500 erase an earlier decline triggered by weaker-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence data. The 10-year Treasury...
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined Monday as the market started a holiday-shortened trading week on a soft note. The blue-chip Dow fell 140 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bucked the downtrend, rising 0.6%, as Tesla, Meta and Nvidia all traded in the green. Trading is expected to be relatively muted during the week. The New York Stock Exchange closes early Tuesday for Christmas Eve at 1 p.m. ET, and the market is shut on Christmas Day. Weak economic data seemed to sour the sentiment a bit. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index...