The Hang Seng Index plunged 404 points, or 1.6%, to close at 24,773 on Thursday (July 31), marking its third consecutive decline and its lowest close in two weeks. Sentiment worsened after China's official PMI showed services activity grew at its slowest pace in eight months and factory output fell the most in six months, amid rising trade barriers and extreme weather. Meanwhile, US President Trump's "reciprocal" tariff suspension is set to expire on Friday, with only eight trade deals reached in the past 120 days. On the monetary front, Fed Chairman Powell dismissed expectations of a...
U.S. stocks hovered around both sides of the flatline on Thursday as traders assessed quarterly earnings from artificial intelligence-darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and fresh tariff remarks from President Donald Trump By 10:04 ET (15:04 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 81 points or 0.2%, the benchmark S&P 500 had erased earlier gains to trade down by 24 points or 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had shed 201 points or 1.0%. Stocks in Asia provided a broadly weaker handover, with tech shares in particular receiving limited direction from Nvidia's results. In...
The Hang Seng fell 70 points, or 0.3%, to close at 23,718 on Thursday, retreating from a rally in the previous session as declines in the technology and consumer staples weighed on sentiment. The index fell from its highest level in more than three years, with the AI-driven tech boom, driven by startup DeepSeek, taking a breather after Nvidia's earnings. Geopolitical concerns also weighed on the market after China launched military drills near Taiwan. Meanwhile, investors awaited official February PMI data from the mainland, with expectations that the Lunar New Year holiday may have slowed...
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Marine Transport, Trading and Pharmaceutical Industry sectors led shares higher At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.30%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Sompo Holdings Inc (TYO:8630), which rose 5.00% or 215.00 points to trade at 4,519.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Fujikura Ltd. (TYO:5803) added 4.81% or 304.00 points to end at 6,625.00 and Itochu Corp. (TYO:8001) was up 4.34% or 282.00 points to 6,774.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Seven & i Holdings...
Hang Seng Index opened down by four points, or 0.01%, settling at 23,783 points. In contrast, the National Enterprises Index rose by three points, or 0.03%, to reach 8,795 points, while the Technology Index gained ten points, or 0.16%, reaching 5,963 points.In the technology sector, stocks exhibited mixed results. Tencent and Alibaba each advanced by 0.4%, while Meituan and Xiaomi Group both increased by 0.5%. However, JD.com and Kuaishou faced declines, falling by 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively. Financial stocks remained stable, with HSBC Holdings and AIA both rising by 0.3%, and Ping An...
The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.6% to above 38,300 while the broader Topix Index gained 0.5% to 2,730 on Thursday, with Japanese shares snapping a two-day losing streak and tracking gains in key Wall Street indexes. These moves came after US President Donald Trump raised hopes of another one-month tariff pause on imports from Mexico and Canada, while also proposing 25% tariffs on European autos and other goods. Investors also took in Nvidia's earnings report, which highlighted strong demand for chips in the growing artificial intelligence sector. In Japan, Seven & I Holdings saw a sharp...