The Hang Seng rose 169 points or 0.7% to close at 24,902 on Tuesday, reversing early losses and marking its second consecutive session of gains. Sentiment improved after a private survey showed China's services activity grew at the fastest pace in 14 months in July, supported by rises in new orders, foreign sales, and employment. A rally on Wall Street also lifted mood, as weaker U.S. jobs data fueled bets on a Fed rate cut in September. Gains were broad-based, led by financials, tech, and consumers, as investors looked past weather-related disruptions in Hong Kong, including heavy rain...
Major European stock markets advanced on Wednesday, with both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 gaining around 1%, building on the previous session's gain and mirroring a broadly positive global sentiment. Investors took comfort after President Trump stated he has no plans to dismiss Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, easing fears over the politicization of US monetary policy. Hopes for a de-escalation in trade tensions between the US and China also lifted sentiment, following remarks from both President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. On the corporate front, shares of SAP jumped...
Hong Kong stocks surged 338 points or 1.6% to a near 10-week peak of 21,904 in Wednesday morning trade, rising for a third straight session. The rally followed a rebound on Wall Street after U.S. President Trump softened his tone on Fed Chair Powell, despite recently posting, "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!" Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects the U.S. and China to begin de-escalating trade tensions "in the very near future." On the domestic front, reports suggested Chinese "national team" and retail investors stepped in to support mainland equities....
The Nikkei 225 Index rallied 2.2% to around 34,980 while the broader Topix Index jumped 2.3% to 2,590 on Wednesday, with Japanese shares hitting a three-week high and tracking a strong rebound on Wall Street. Those moves came as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled a potential easing in the US-China trade dispute, calling the current tariff standoff "unsustainable." Later in the day, President Donald Trump reinforced market optimism by confirming he has no plans to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, helping to stabilize sentiment around central bank independence and policy...
Asia-Pacific markets climbed Wednesday, after all three key benchmarks on Wall Street advanced overnight on optimism that U.S.-China trade tensions could ease. This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that final tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. "won't be anywhere near as high as 145%." However, he added that the duties "won't be 0%." Trump also said he has "no intention" to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell before his term ends, alleviating investors' concerns over the central bank's independence. Hong Kong stocks led gains in the region, with the Hang Seng...
US stocks rose on Tuesday as hopes of an easing in the US-China trade war lifted investor sentiment after a sharp sell-off the previous day. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose 2.5%, while the Dow Jones jumped 1,016 points. Optimism was fueled by comments from Treasury Secretary Bessent at a JPMorgan-hosted summit, in which he said the current tariff standoff was "unsustainable" and hinted that negotiations with China were moving toward a resolution. However, gains eased later in the day as Bessent acknowledged that formal talks had not yet begun and warned that negotiations would likely be...