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%,...
The S&P 500 rose on Monday, spurred by a rise in technology shares, to start a shortened holiday week. The broad market index climbed 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 133 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7%. Key stocks linked to artificial intelligence offered a boost to the broader market. Nvidia shares rose 1% after Reuters said the company is looking to begin shipments of its H200 chips to China by mid-February. Meanwhile, Micron Technology and Oracle climbed almost 2.5% and more than 1%, respectively. Wall Street is coming off a mixed week for the...
Both the STOXX 50 and the STOXX 600 traded around the flatline on Monday, as investors adopted a cautious stance amid a lack of fresh catalysts. The only notable data release was the UK's final GDP growth figures, which confirmed the preliminary estimate. Trading conditions are expected to remain subdued this week, as the schedule is shortened by the Christmas holiday, with most major European stock exchanges closed on Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, investors continue to monitor developments in the war in Ukraine, after a Kremlin aide said that European and Ukrainian revisions to US peace...
The Hang Seng rose 111 points, or 0.4%, to close at 25,802 on Monday, hitting its highest level in over one week and extending gains for a fourth straight session. The move tracked a rise in U.S. futures after a rebound in AI-related stocks fueled an upbeat session on Wall Street. Sentiment was also supported by the PBoC's decision to keep key lending rates at record lows for a seventh straight meeting, as the economy remains on track to meet this year's growth target. Traders took advantage of shortened trading hours this week amid hopes of further Fed rate cuts and a lack of strong market...
The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.81% to close at 50,402 on Monday, comfortably surpassing the 50,000-point mark, tracking Friday's strong performance on Wall Street. The rally on Wall Street was driven by robust technology earnings and easing concerns over a potential technology boom risk. Gains in the index were also supported by a weakening yen following the Bank of Japan's widely anticipated rate hike. The central bank raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%, the highest level since 1995. A sharp drop in the yen is expected to lift export earnings for Japanese companies....
The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.81% to close at 50,402 on Monday, comfortably surpassing the 50,000-point mark, tracking Friday's strong performance on Wall Street. The rally on Wall Street was driven by robust technology earnings and easing concerns over a potential technology boom risk. Gains in the index were also supported by a weakening yen following the Bank of Japan's widely anticipated rate hike. The central bank raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%, the highest level since 1995. A sharp drop in the yen is expected to lift export earnings for Japanese companies....