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,...
European equities were mostly lower on Wednesday, reversing early gains and extending losses for a second consecutive session. The STOXX 50 fell 0.7%, while the STOXX 600 closed little changed. ASML Holding tumbled 4% after a Reuters report showed a team in Shenzhen had completed a working prototype of an EUV machine in early 2025, which will potentially reduce China's demand for ASML's products. Siemens was also down 2% and Schneider Electric fell 2.9%. In contrast, defense stocks rebounded after Germany's parliamentary budget committee cleared more than €50 billion in defense contracts...
Stocks rose Wednesday after the S&P 500 posted a third losing session, as investors weighed newly released U.S. economic data. The S&P 500 traded 0.1% higher along with the Nasdaq Composite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 146 points, or 0.3%. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released early Tuesday its November job report, which also included data from October. The findings pulled back the curtain on the U.S.′ economic health following a federal data backup caused by the U.S. government shutdown this fall. The report showed the U.S. economy shed 105,000 jobs in...
The Hang Seng Index rose 233 points, or 0.9%, to close at 25,469 on Wednesday (December 17), ending two consecutive sessions of sharp declines as gains spread across all sectors. The index rebounded from a near four-week low, supported by buying after recent losses. Mainland Chinese markets also recovered, supported by a rebound in technology stocks, which boosted sentiment across the region. Meanwhile, analysts at Goldman Sachs said Chinese equities could rise by around 30% by the end of 2027, citing continued pro-market policies, improving corporate earnings, and continued capital...
European stocks opened generally higher on Wednesday (December 17th) as investors prepared for central bank decisions. Central bank action will be closely monitored by European market participants this week, with the European Central Bank (ECB) scheduled to hold its final policy meeting of the year on Thursday. Although the central bank is expected to keep interest rates at 2%, ECB President Christine Lagarde has said it is likely to raise its eurozone growth forecast again. In September, the central bank raised its annual GDP growth forecast to 1.2%. The Bank of England, Riksbank, and...
The Nikkei 225 closed today with a slight increase of +0.26% to 49,512.28. Fundamentally, the Japanese market is in a tug-of-war between positive domestic sentiment and interest rate concerns. On the one hand, Japanese export data is strong (supportive for global-oriented stocks), but on the other hand, the market is increasingly convinced that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates this week—this usually strengthens the yen and can pressure exporter stocks. Additional pressures come from less than ideal industrial activity indicators and fiscal issues: factory activity/machinery...