The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) soured sharply on Friday, plummeting to its lowest bids in nearly three weeks and declining over 1,000 points top-to-bottom after US President Donald Trump pulled out of upcoming trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and vowed to sharply increase import tariffs on all Chinese goods. According to Trump, China is holding the rest of the world hostage with its protectionist rare earth materials policies. Market-wide expectations of a potential tariff-easing trade deal between the US and China were demolished by Trump's fresh tariff proclamation,...
Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher Friday, tracking Wall Street gains as investors shrugged off the U.S. government shutdown. Investors are waiting to see how long the shutdown will last to assess the gravity of its economic repercussions. Historically, government shutdowns in the U.S. have not been market-moving events. Japan's September unemployment rate rose to 2.6%, government data showed Friday, higher than the 2.4% expected by economists polled by Reuters. The latest reading compared with the 2.3% unemployment rate in August. The country's September manufacturing purchasing...
Japanese stocks are expected to move higher on Friday, following Wall Street's record-breaking rally, fueled by OpenAI's latest funding and eye-catching valuations. Nikkei futures on SGX rose 35 points to 45,050, signaling a positive opening. In the currency market, USD/JPY was at 147.14 (vs. 147.26 late Thursday in New York), indicating a relatively stable yen. The stable exchange rate is boosting sentiment in export-oriented stocks. Investors will also be keeping an eye on Saturday's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election, which could potentially influence domestic...
The Nasdaq marked a record closing high on Thursday with support from the technology sector while the benchmark S&P 500 barely managed to notch a record close as investors cautiously monitored private labor market data in the second day of a U.S. government shutdown. The benchmark index's valuation was around its highest level since 2020, with help from heavyweight technology companies including AI chip leader Nvidia and Broadcom. With no official government data available because of the shutdown, investors were monitoring information from other sources. A report from global...
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Nasdaq gained 0.6% and the Dow Jones hovered near the flatline. Investors kept a cautious eye on the ongoing US government shutdown, though markets largely shrugged off concerns, awaiting further developments and hoping the stalemate proves short-lived. Technology led sector gains after OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in a share sale valuing the company at $500 billion and announced an agreement with South Korean chipmakers. Industrials, energy and consumer discretionary stocks also advanced, while real estate lagged. Among...
The Hang Seng Index rose for the third day, climbing 1.6%, or 431.56 to 27,287.12 in Hong Kong. The index advanced to the highest closing level in at least a year. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.5%. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. had the largest increase, rising 12.7%. Today, 60 of 88 shares rose, while 25 fell; 3 of 4 sectors were higher, led by commerce and industry stocks. Source: Bloomberg.com