European equity markets extended their rally on the first trading day of 2026, with benchmark indices pushing to fresh record highs despite thin liquidity following the New Year holiday. Gains were led by defense stocks, underpinned by persistent geopolitical tensions and expectations of increased military spending across the region. The STOXX 50 climbed 0.7% to a new all-time high of 5,830 points, while the broader STOXX 600 rose 0.4% to a record 595 points. The strong start to the year follows a robust performance in 2025, when the STOXX 50 advanced about 18% and the STOXX 600 rose 17%,...
Hong Kong's equities plunged 198 points or 1.0% to 19,405 on Thursday morning deals, ending gains in the previous two sessions amid declines in all sectors, especially consumers, tech, and financials. Sentiment was downbeat following overnight losses on Wall Street, driven by a pullback in major US tech stocks ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Meanwhile, concerns over trade disputes between China and the US administration were heightened as the Biden administration reportedly considered imposing additional restrictions on the sales of semiconductor equipment and AI memory chips to...
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Thursday after Wall Street's rally stalled overnight even as inflation data matched expectations. The U.S. personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index rose 2.3% on an annualized basis, up from 2.1% in September. So-called core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 2.8% in the 12 months to October, up from 2.7% in the previous month. Both were in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters, according to LSEG data. The Bank of Korea is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.25% when its...
Japanese stocks fell, dragged down by a decline in electronics shares, as concerns about U.S. trade policy persisted. Lasertec dropped 3.4% and Terumo dropped 1.7%. USD/JPY was at 151.46, down from 152.15 at the close of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Investors were watching the yen and any developments related to the Russia-Ukraine war. The Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.4% at 37,994.69. Source: Bloomberg
Stocks fell in light trading on Wednesday as investors took some risk off the table following big November gains. The S&P 500 shed 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 115 points, or 0.3%, despite trading more than 140 points up at session highs. Traders appeared to take profits on big technology names that have largely performed well this year, which can explain the Nasdaq's underperformance. Nvidia which has surged more than 168% in 2024, lost more than 3% in the session. Meta Platformsslid about 1% after rallying around 60% this...
European stocks closed firmly lower on Wednesday, extending the drop from the prior session as markets continued to assess the outlook for ECB policy and the impact of tariff threats from the upcoming US presidential administration. The Eurozone's Stoxx 50 dropped 0.6% to close at 4,734 and the pan-European Stoxx 600 eased 0.2% to close at 505. ECB Governing Council member Schnabel noted that the Eurozone's economy is not headed into a recession, warranting caution in its upcoming policy decisions to not overly expedite rate cuts. French financial services providers were among the worst...