US stocks were higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.3%, the Nasdaq edging up 0.1%, and the Dow Jones jumping more than 250 points. The gains followed fresh record closes for the S&P 500 in back-to-back sessions. Investor sentiment was buoyed by renewed trade optimism after President Trump announced a deal with Japan that would lower tariffs from 25% to 15%. Japan also committed to investing $550 billion in the US and opening its markets to key American goods. Additionally, a trade agreement with the Philippines was announced, while hopes are growing that a deal with the EU...
The European stock markets closed out a rough week sharply higher in Friday trading as The Stoxx Europe climbed 1.31%, the Swiss Market Index surged 1.63%, France's CAC rose 1.09%, the FTSE in London gained 1.07%, and Germany's DAX closed 1.10% higher. In the UK, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 49.9 in October from 51.5 in September, slipping into contraction territory for the first time since April. S&P attributed the decline in large part to a lack of consumer confidence and an economic slowdown. Meanwhile, UK house prices...
Stocks climbed Friday to kick off November as Amazon led big technology stocks into the green and traders looked past a disappointing jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 467 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1% and 1.3%, respectively. Amazon rallied more than 6% as strength in the cloud and advertising businesses propelled the ecommerce giant above Wall Street's earnings expectations. Intel popped 5.3% after exceeding analysts' forecasts for revenue and offering strong guidance. The two stocks improved sentiment following some notable earnings...
The Hang Seng added 189 points or 0.9% to end at 20,506 on the first trading day of the month, snapping a two-day decline as factory activity in China recovered last month. Beijing's recent stimulus measures began to show a positive impact ahead of next week's National People's Congress session, which could launch more initiatives. On the monetary front, the PBoC injected CNY 500 billion via reverse repos late Thursday to keep ample liquidity nearing year-end. Property, consumers, and financials drove the strength, with notable rises from Akeso Inc. (8.4%), Tencent Holdings (3.7%), and...
European equity markets are set for a positive open on Friday after three consecutive days of heavy selling, as sentiment is starting to stabilize. Investors continue to assess the region's economic outlook and monetary policy. Earlier this week, stocks faced pressure from disappointing earnings reports from major U.S. tech companies, which negatively impacted market sentiment. In addition, investors are preparing for the upcoming U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve's latest decision next week. On a more concerning note, data released on Thursday showed that inflation in the...
The Nikkei 225 index fell 2.63% to close at 38,054, while the broader Topix index dropped 1.9% to 2,644 on Friday, extending losses from the previous session and mirroring declines on Wall Street on disappointing corporate news from Microsoft and Meta Platforms. Local stocks also came under pressure as the yen rose following a less dovish statement from the Bank of Japan and signs of easing price pressures in the U.S. The stronger yen hurt the earnings outlook for Japan's export-heavy industries. Technology stocks were particularly hard hit, with significant losses for Advantest (-4.4%),...