(Hong Kong) On the final trading day of July, the Hang Seng Index opened 194 points, or 0.77%, lower at 24,982. The China Enterprises Index fell by 61 points, or 0.68%, to 8,976, while the Technology Index declined 31 points, or 0.58%, to 5,458. WuXi AppTec saw its share price drop 4% after a discounted share placement. Technology stocks broadly weakened, with Meituan leading the decline, falling 3.06%. Alibaba slipped 0.95%, Xiaomi Group dropped 0.82%, Trip.com Group eased 0.57%, and Tencent edged down 0.36%. Financial stocks also displayed weakness. HSBC Holdings extended its losses by...
US stocks fell on Friday, with the S&P 500 down 07%, the Dow Jones down about 230 points and the Nasdaq down 1%, after a better-than-expected jobs report underscored the resilience of the US labor market, reinforcing the Federal Reserve's cautious approach to further interest rate cuts. The US economy unexpectedly added 256,000 jobs in December, well above the 160,000 forecast, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.1% from 4.2% while wage growth slowed to 0.3% as expected. Traders expect the Fed to leave the federal funds rate steady through the second half of the year....
European markets traded flat to down on Friday amid concerns about the UK debt market, with attention now turning to US jobs data that could provide clues on the Fed's interest rate path The Stoxx 50 fell 0.1% and the Stoxx 600 was flat. Ubisoft shares fell more than 8% after it announced a review of its strategic options following speculation about a potential buyout. Investors also monitored a surge in UK bond yields, with the 30-year yield hitting a level not seen since the late 1990s and the 10-year yield hitting its highest since the 2008 financial crisis, reflecting growing concerns...
The Hang Seng fell 177 points, or 0.9%, to close at 19,064 on Friday, down for a fifth straight session and hitting its lowest in more than six weeks as sectors broadly lost ground. Nervous traders reacted to the People's Bank of China's decision to halt purchases of government bonds that sent yields soaring. Investors are cautiously awaiting China's December trade data, due later in the week. Exports grew less than expected in November, while imports unexpectedly shrank. Meanwhile, U.S. futures pointed to a weaker open on Wall Street, with traders preparing for the NFP data later in the...
Japanese stocks fell after the close on Friday, as losses in the Shipping, Electric Power and Insurance sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.04%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857), which rose 5.12% or 506.00 points to trade at 10,380.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (TYO:3382) rose 4.86% or 115.50 points to close at 2,490.00 and Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:5801) gained 3.48% or 244.00 points to 7,259.00 in late trade. The worst performers on the session were Mitsui...
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.9% to below 39,300 while the broader Topix INdex lost 0.6% to 2,720 on Friday, with both benchmarks sliding for the third straight session and heading toward their second straight weekly drop. Investor sentiment turned cautious ahead of the US jobs report, which could influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook for the year. Global stocks also faced pressure on Thursday after the release of the latest Fed minutes, which pointed to a potential slowdown in the pace of policy easing due to ongoing concerns over inflation. Domestically, Japan's real...