The Hang Seng Index plunged 404 points, or 1.6%, to close at 24,773 on Thursday (July 31), marking its third consecutive decline and its lowest close in two weeks. Sentiment worsened after China's official PMI showed services activity grew at its slowest pace in eight months and factory output fell the most in six months, amid rising trade barriers and extreme weather. Meanwhile, US President Trump's "reciprocal" tariff suspension is set to expire on Friday, with only eight trade deals reached in the past 120 days. On the monetary front, Fed Chairman Powell dismissed expectations of a...
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped Monday, the first trading day of June, as global trade tensions increased. The 30-stock average lost 181 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 also pulled back 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%. China pushed back against U.S. accusations that it had violated a temporary trade agreement. Instead, the country blamed Washington for failing to uphold the deal — a sign that negotiations between the world's two largest economies are deteriorating. Tensions reignited following a brief pause after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice...
The Hang Seng fell 132 points or 0.6% to close at 23,158 on Monday, marking its second straight decline amid broad sectoral losses. Renewed Sino-U.S. trade tensions weighed on sentiment after China rejected President Trump's claims that it had violated a Geneva trade deal, calling the accusations "groundless" and vowing to take "forceful measures" in response. U.S. futures also dropped sharply after Trump announced a steel tariff hike to 50% starting Wednesday, with the European Commission warning of possible retaliation. However, markets trimmed earlier losses after Treasury Secretary...
European stocks started June in the red, with both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 falling nearly 0.6%, retreating after gains of around 4% in May. The decline comes amid escalating geopolitical tensions, with China accusing the US of violating their recent trade agreement, following President Trump's accusations last week that China had broken the deal. Also, Trump announced plans to double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%, a move that has drawn criticism from the EU. Meanwhile, traders are bracing for the ECB's monetary decision later this week, with expectations of another rate...
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 1.32%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (TYO:4506), which rose 5.92% or 45.00 points to trade at 805.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Fujitsu Ltd. (TYO:6702) added 4.31% or 143.00 points to end at 3,461.00 and T&D Holdings, Inc. (TYO:8795) was up 4.10% or 136.00 points to 3,450.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were SUMCO Corp....
Hong Kong shares tumbled 507 points, or 2.2% to 22,774 in early trade on the first trading day of June, marking the second straight session of losses and hitting a three-week low. The selloff followed renewed U.S.-China trade tensions after Beijing today accused Washington of "seriously violating" a truce reached in May and vowed "strong and resolute measures" in response. This came after President Trump claimed Friday that China had "totally violated" the agreement, pointing to reduced rare earth exports. Meanwhile, U.S. futures slumped after Trump pledged to double steel tariffs to 50%,...