The Hang Seng Index plunged 454 points, or 1.7%, on Tuesday (November 18th), its sharpest one-day drop since mid-October, and closed at a two-week low of 25,930. The index fell for a third straight session, weighed down by broad declines across sectors. Sentiment soured due to the global market slump, with traders anxiously awaiting Nvidia's earnings report amid valuation concerns and the delayed release of US data, including the September employment report. Technology stocks slumped nearly 2% as the recent rally showed signs of exhaustion. Property, financial, and consumer discretionary...
The Nikkei rose at the close on Wednesday (October 15th), led by the property, banking, and textile sectors. Sentiment improved as the market read the Fed's increasingly dovish signals—balance sheet reduction is likely to stop soon—resulting in lower yields and recovering risk appetite. Rotation flowed to domestic issuers benefiting from consumption and stable funding costs; thus, retail and banking were the driving forces. A slightly stronger yen restrained exporters but boosted interest in locally market-oriented stocks. In commodities, oil tended to weaken due to the narrative of a...
The Hang Seng Index rose 1.6% to 25,836.06 at 10:12 a.m. local time on Wednesday, snapping a seven-day losing streak (~-7%). The rise was driven by expectations of a Fed rate cut this month after Jerome Powell signaled a 25-bps rate cut, offsetting concerns about renewed US-China tensions (the "cooking oil" issue). Hang Seng Tech also gained 1.8%, while on the mainland, the CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite each gained 0.4%. Moving stocks: China Life +3.7%, Pop Mart +3.4%, Alibaba +2.4%, Tencent +0.7%. Domestic sentiment was helped by signs of easing Chinese deflation (September PPI -2.3% YoY...
The Nikkei index rose 0.6% to 47,131.16, boosted by expectations of a Fed interest rate cut. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell hinted at the possibility of a 25-bps interest rate cut later this month, which Commerzbank research found was enough to trigger buying. Among the top gainers, Modec jumped 6.1%, Sanrio rose 4.7%, and Aeon also rose 4.7%. The gains were spread across several sectors, indicating broad market sentiment, not limited to specific stocks. Conversely, Asahi Group Holdings fell 1.1% after delaying the release of its third-quarter financial results due to the impact of a...
Asian stocks opened higher, boosting expectations of a Fed interest rate cut, amid renewed concerns about US–China trade tensions. Australia was in the green early in the session, while Japanese and Hong Kong futures signaled gains. Jerome Powell's comments on a weakening job market further strengthened the case for an October rate cut, although Wall Street faltered after President Donald Trump suggested he could halt the "cooking oil" trade with China. In other asset markets, the dollar weakened, oil stabilized near a five-month low, and gold was flat after a three-day rally. Silver...
Wall Street experienced a volatile session on Tuesday (October 14th) as investors weighed mostly positive bank earnings, Federal Reserve comments, and ongoing US-China trade tensions. The S&P 500 failed to sustain its rebound and closed down 0.2%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.8%, pressured by tech companies like Nvidia, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 203 points. Major banks, including Citigroup (+3.9%), Wells Fargo (+7.1%), JPMorgan (-1.9%), and Goldman Sachs (-2%), delivered better-than-expected results, supporting the financial sector, although some top performers declined...