Britain's FTSE 100 index on Friday briefly surpassed the symbolic 10,000 points marker for the first time, extending gains after a bumper 2025. The FTSE 100 index — home to the U.K.'s most valuable blue-chip companies — ended the first trading day of the year 0.2% higher at 9,951, kicking off the year in positive territory. The index surpassed the 10,000 threshold at around 8:30 a.m. London time, before paring gains. Analysts told CNBC late last year that while the speed of the FTSE 100′s rise to the 10,000-point level was notable, investors should remain wary. The pan-European Stoxx 600...
The Hang Seng Index opened 0.3% higher at 20,376.93 in Hong Kong. Meituan contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.3%. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 3.1%. In early trading, 41 of 82 shares rose, while 37 fell; 3 of 4 sectors were higher, led by finance stocks. Source : Bloomberg
Japanese stocks fell after the yen strengthened as much as 1% against the dollar overnight and US technology shares slumped. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 2% as of 9:12 a.m. in Tokyo, while the broader Topix slipped 1.3%. Exporters such as automakers and technology companies were among the heaviest drags on the Topix. The yen reached a one-week high of 151.79 per dollar, after jumping as much as 1% on Thursday. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Thursday that currency markets have had a major impact on the economy, pointing to another potential...
Asia-Pacific markets are set for a mixed open on Friday, after Wall Street benchmarks the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 posted their worst day in nearly two months on a downbeat Microsoft earnings forecast and MetaTrader results. Traders await a raft of economic data from the region, including Australia's third-quarter producer price index reading and China's Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index for October. Japan's Nikkei 225 appears set for a weaker open, with futures in Chicago at 38,470 and its Osaka counterpart at 38,370 against the index's last close of...