The European stock markets closed sharply lower in Friday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.8%, Germany's DAX dropped 2.5%, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7%, France's CAC decreased 2.9%, and the Swiss Market Index declined 0.8%. The annual inflation rate in the euro area was an estimated 2.0% in July, which is unchanged from June, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. Analysts had been expecting 1.9%, according to Bloomberg. Eurostat said food, alcohol, and tobacco are expected to have the highest annual rate in July at 3.3%, compared with 3.1% in...
The Hang Seng rose 61 points, or 0.3%, to close at 19,584 on Friday, marking its fourth session of gains amid upbeat economic data from China. The country's GDP grew 5.4% year-on-year in Q4, the fastest pace since Q2 2023, meeting the official target of around 5% thanks to stimulus measures in recent months. Meanwhile, industrial output rose 6.2% year-on-year in December, the highest in eight months, and retail sales recovered from a three-month low in November. Locally, figures from the Hong Kong Tourism Board showed tourist arrivals in the city jumped 31% to nearly 45 million in 2024,...
European stock markets rose on Friday, boosted by stronger-than-expected Chinese growth data that overshadowed disappointing retail sales figures from the U.K. At 3:05 a.m. ET (08:05 GMT), Germany's DAX index was up 0.5%, France's CAC 40 was up 0.5% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 1%. China's economy grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, data released earlier on Friday showed, significantly beating analysts' expectations and marking the fastest growth since the second quarter of 2023. For the full year of 2024, the world's second-largest economy expanded 5.0%, meeting the...
Japanese stocks fell after the close on Friday, as losses in the Transportation, Automobiles & Parts and Pharmaceuticals sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.41% to hit a fresh 1-month low. The best performers on the Nikkei 225 were Hino Motors, Ltd. (TYO:7205), which rose 7.59% or 42.40 points to trade at 601.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Taiheiyo Cement Corp. (TYO:5233) gained 6.30% or 218.00 points to close at 3,677.00 and Okuma Corp. (TYO:6103) gained 4.79% or 160.00 points to close at 3,500.00 in the last trade. The worst performers of the...
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 1.1% to around 38,160, while the broader Topix Index fell 1.3% to 2,653 on Friday, marking their lowest levels in at least a month. The declines followed losses on Wall Street overnight, driven by a sell-off in megacap technology stocks. Investor focus shifted to the upcoming Bank of Japan monetary policy decision, as Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated on Wednesday that the central bank would consider raising interest rates at its next meeting. In corporate news, Nintendo saw a sharp 6% drop after announcing the launch of its Switch 2 console later this year. Other...
U.S. stocks dipped on Thursday as a jump in the prior session cooled, while investors eyed the most recent corporate earnings and gauged economic data to determine the path of Federal Reserve rate cuts. A benign reading on inflation calmed fears about a renewal in price pressures and strong bank earnings helped the three major U.S. indexes notch their biggest one-day percentage gain since Nov. 6 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley (MS.N), advanced 4.03% after the lender said earnings increased in the fourth quarter, propelled by a wave of dealmaking, while Bank of America (BAC.N), shares declined...