Wall Street's indexes closed at record highs on Wednesday, buoyed by strong sector performance and optimism that the US government shutdown will be brief. Investors shrugged off the first day of the shutdown and weaker-than-expected private payrolls data, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.3%, the Nasdaq 100 rising 0.5%, and the Dow adding 43 points. Health-care stocks led the advance, driven by sharp gains in Regeneron (+6.7%), Moderna (+6.8%), Eli Lilly (+8.2%), and AbbVie (+5.5%), while optimism over Pfizer's (+2.2%) deal with the White House on Medicaid drug pricing provided additional...
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Tuesday, fueled by a tech rally on Wall Street after Nvidia announced a partnership with OpenAI, driving investor optimism about the future of artificial intelligence. Australia's ASX/S&P 200 rose 0.17%. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.69%, while the small-cap Kosdaq added 0.28% at the open. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was set to open higher, with its futures contract last traded at 26,396, against the index's previous close of 26,344.14. Hong Kong is bracing for a severe typhoon. The Hong Kong Observatory warned that conditions will begin to...
US stocks rallied on Monday (September 22nd) as Wall Street extended its record high, driven by optimism for megacap Big Tech companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, the Nasdaq gained 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66 points, with all three indexes closing at new highs. Nvidia jumped 4% after announcing an investment of up to $100 billion in OpenAI, lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, while Oracle surged 6.3% following a leadership change and continued enthusiasm for AI. Apple shares rose 4.3%, supported by strong demand for the iPhone 17, and Tesla rose 1.9%, reaching a 2025...
European stocks closed slightly lower on Monday (September 22nd) after posting strong gains the previous week as markets continued to assess the global interest rate outlook and weighed lingering geopolitical risks. The Eurozone STOXX 50 fell 0.3% to 5,445, and the pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.1% to 554. Automakers led the decline after Porsche cut its profit outlook for the year and delayed the launch of an electric car due to weak demand, pushing its shares down 7.2%. Volkswagen, Porsche's main shareholder, fell 7.1%, while Stellantis fell more than 2%. Meanwhile, BBVA underperformed in...
The Hang Seng dropped 201 points or 0.8% to close at 26,344 on Monday, reversing a flat finish in the prior session as U.S. futures fell sharply ahead of Fed speeches and a key U.S. inflation report this week. Caution also grew ahead of Hong Kong's August inflation data due later today, while the city braced for one of its strongest super typhoons in years. Hong Kong International Airport will suspend passenger flights for 36 hours from Tuesday evening, with the Airport Authority confirming preparations for the storm, named Ragasa. Losses were partly cushioned by the PBoC's decision to keep...
Both the STOXX 50 and the STOXX 600 were little changed on Monday, as traders began the week cautiously ahead of remarks from several Fed officials that could help shape the monetary outlook for the rest of the year. Investors also weighed President Trump's new visa measures, including a proposed $100,000 application fee for the widely used H-1B program—a move that would sharply raise costs for companies, particularly in the tech sector, that rely on skilled foreign workers. On the corporate front, telecoms, automakers, and banks were among the biggest decliners. VW shares fell about 4.3%,...