Asia-Pacific stock markets are expected to open mixed on Friday, marking a cautious start to the new year. This movement follows the New Year's Eve close of US markets, where the three major Wall Street indexes weakened, although overall they still posted positive performance for 2025. Several major Asian markets remain closed for the New Year holiday, including Japan and mainland China. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index opened relatively stable with no major movements. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index futures were at 25,648, slightly higher than the last close of 25,630.54,...
Asian stocks rose at the opening session today, tracking significant gains on Wall Street, which hit a record high after data showed the US economy grew at its fastest pace in two years. The MSCI Asia Index rose 0.2%, with Japan and South Korea gaining, while Australian shares edged lower in the shortened trading session. US stocks also posted gains for the fourth straight day, driven by major technology stocks, which rose nearly 1%. Investors' attention was also focused on commodity markets, with gold prices surging to a new record above $4,500 per ounce. The rise in gold prices was driven...
Japan's Nikkei index edged up 0.2% on Wednesday (December 23rd), reaching 50,519.41, following gains on Wall Street overnight. The rise was fueled by recently released US economic data, which painted a mixed picture but still showed resilience. Despite concerns about some indicators, solid employment data and a sharp rise in US corporate profits reinforced the view that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates unchanged at its upcoming January meeting. Among the best-performing stocks on Japan's main index, Screen Holdings surged 7.4%, while Sumitomo Metal Mining rose 4.2%, and...
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to close at a new record on Tuesday (December 24th), while the Nasdaq also rose 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%, as technology and energy stocks led broad gains. Large-cap stocks mostly rose, led by Nvidia's 3% gain, while Apple rose 0.5%, Microsoft edged up 0.4%, Alphabet added 1.4%, Amazon rose 1.6%, MetaTrader 5 rose 0.5%, and Broadcom rose 2.3%. In contrast, the real estate and consumer staples sectors underperformed. Eli Lilly shares fell 0.5% despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving Novo Nordisk's weight-loss pill....
European markets closed higher on Tuesday, paring the previous session's losses. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.3%, notching a new record closing high, lifted by surging shares of Copenhagen-listed Novo Nordisk. That brings the benchmark's year-to-date gains to 16%. With a week to go, it looks on track for its third consecutive year of gains. Investors are watching Novo Nordisk stock after the Wegovy-maker gained FDA approval for the first-ever GLP-1 pill, giving the Danish firm a head start over U.S. rival Eli Lilly. Novo stock closed 9.2% higher as the best performer among...
Stocks fell slightly on Tuesday after delayed economic data came in well above expectations, signaling that the U.S. economy may be holding up better than originally thought. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 53 points lower, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite traded around the flatline. The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy expanded at 4.3% pace in the third quarter, much better than the 3.2% estimate that economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast. The report — which was postponed from its initially planned release date of Oct. 30 because of the...