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 higher on Thursday (September 18th) thanks to strong support from major technology companies, as investors assessed policy decisions from major central banks and their impact on global interest rates. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, as expected, and issued a median projection of two more rate cuts this year, although upward revisions to core inflation expectations and higher growth dampened speculation of further cuts next year. Meanwhile, the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged, as expected, but slowed the pace of its...
Stocks in the US were mostly higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.5% and the Nasdaq adding 0.8% while the Dow Jones traded around the flatline as traders digested the Fed's first interest rate cut of the year and better-than-expected jobless claims. The Fed signaled an additional 50bps of cuts this year, followed by another 25bps reduction in 2026. Volatility followed the decision and Chair Powell's press conference, where he framed the move as a "risk management" cut and cautioned that there are no risk-free paths. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims fell much more than expected...
The Hang Seng tumbled 363 points or 1.4% to close at 26,545 on Thursday, reversing early gains as sentiment turned sour amid a sharp drop in mainland markets. Pressure mounted after the PBoC today signaled no urgency to ease monetary policy, leaving its seven-day reverse repo rate unchanged at 1.4%. This fueled bets that Beijing may delay fresh stimulus until next year. In the US, the Fed lowered its benchmark rate as expected, with Chair Powell calling it a "risk management cut" while projecting two more reductions this year, another in 2026, one in 2027, and none in 2028. Profit-taking...
The STOXX 50 jumped 0.7% and the STOXX 600 was up 0.5% on Thursday, as trackers digest the latest Fed decision. The central bank cut the fed funds rate by 25bps as expected and signalled 50bps of additional cuts until the end of the year. However, Chair Powell emphasized that the move should not be seen as the start of a new easing cycle. Meanwhile, the Bank of England is set to leave borrowing costs when it announces the monetary policy decision later in the day. On the corporate front, SAP (2.3%), ASML Holding (2%), Linde (1.8%), Siemens (1.3%) and Schneider Electric (2.2%) booked strong...
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Real Estate, Banking and Textile sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 1.20% to hit a new all time high. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Resonac Holdings Corp (TYO:4004), which rose 11.65% or 540.00 points to trade at 5,175.00 at the close. Meanwhile, SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436) added 7.39% or 104.50 points to end at 1,518.00 and Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (TYO:5706) was up 5.93% or 605.00 points to 10,810.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session...