US stocks rallied on Wednesday (July 23), driven by optimism over a new trade agreement and strong corporate momentum. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to a new record high, while the Nasdaq gained 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 505 points, nearly reaching its own record high. The market welcomed news of a finalized trade deal between the US and Japan that includes reciprocal tariffs of 15%, with President Trump signaling similar progress in negotiations with the European Union. Reports suggesting a US-EU deal is nearing completion, mirroring Japan's framework, further boosted...
The S&P 500 and the Dow hovered at levels seen more than a week ago on Friday, as investors took comfort from data pointing to robust economic activity in the world's biggest economy. The domestically focused small-cap Russell 2000 index,outperformed large-cap indexes with a 1.3% rise. The index hit a more than one-week high and was set for weekly advances of nearly 4%. A measure of business activity raced to a 31-month high in November, boosted by hopes for lower interest rates and more business-friendly policies from President-elect Donald Trump's administration next year. At 11:29...
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was trading 0.6% higher at 8:45 a.m. in London, with nearly all sectors and major bourses in positive territory. Technology stocks led the gains, up 1.3%, while the European banking index fell 0.2%. The regional index snapped a four-session losing streak on Thursday and closed about 0.5% higher. Data released Friday showed Germany's economy grew a modest 0.1% in the third quarter from the previous three months — lower than a preliminary reading of 0.2% for the period. In the U.K., the pound fell to a six-month low against the U.S. dollar following data on U.K....
The Hang Seng fell 371 points, or 1.9%, to close at a nearly two-month low of 19,230 on Friday (11/22), marking a second session of losses amid weak corporate earnings and heightened concerns about China's recovery from potential U.S. tariffs with the return of Donald Trump to the presidency. For the week, the index disappointed by about 1%, its second straight decline, with all sectors suffering sharp losses, as markets in the mainland and tumbled about 3%. Technology stocks fell 2.6%, edging closer to a bear market, after e-commerce giant PDD Hlds. missed Q3 estimates. Meanwhile, search...
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.7% to around 38,300, while the broader Topix index gained 0.6% to 2,699 on Friday, recovering some losses from the previous session as investors digested the latest Japanese consumer inflation data. The data revealed that Japan's headline inflation rate slowed to a nine-month low of 2.3% in October, while core inflation also fell to a six-month low of 2.3%, slightly above the 2.2% forecast. In addition, a separate report showed that manufacturing activity in Japan contracted more than expected in November, although service activity increased. Nearly all sectors...
Hong Kong stocks are headed for a weekly gain as investors await more clarity on stimulus measures from Beijing. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 per cent to 19,642.83 as of 10.02am local time, taking the gain to 1.1 per cent for the week. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 0.7 per cent. Mainland's benchmarks declined. The CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both retreated 0.3 per cent. Source: SCMP