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...
Japan's Topix hits record high as Asia-Pacific stocks climb on trade deal optimism Japan's Topix closes at a record high as region ends trading day largely in the green Asia markets ended the day largely in the green. Japan's Topix jumped 1.75% to close at a record high of 2,977.55. The country's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1.59% to end the trading day at 41,826.34. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.21% to 3,190.45, though the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.45% to close at 809.89. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.32% to close at 8,709.4. Mainland China's CSI 300 rose 0.71% to 4,149.04. Source:...
European stock markets traded higher on Thursday, with the STOXX 50 climbing nearly 1% and the broader STOXX 600 advancing 0.6%, buoyed by growing trade optimism after reports that the EU and US are nearing a deal to impose 15% tariffs on select European imports while waiving duties on others. Investors are also closely watching the European Central Bank's policy announcement later today, with interest rates widely expected to remain unchanged following a series of cuts, as policymakers navigate ongoing trade uncertainty. On the corporate front, Deutsche Bank shares jumped 6% after the...
Following a four-day winning streak, Hong Kong's stock market saw a slight correction on Thursday morning (24th July). The Hang Seng Index opened 9 points lower, down 0.04%, at 25,528 points. Meanwhile, the China Enterprises Index fell by 15 points, or 0.17%, to 9,225 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 14 points, or 0.26%, to 5,730 points. Financial stocks showed mixed performances. AIA Group rose 0.21%, while Ping An Insurance and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing remained unchanged. HSBC Holdings climbed 0.8%, trading at HK$100.8. Among major tech stocks, Meituan fell 0.15%,...
The Nikkei 225 Index rallied 1.1% to above 41,600 while the broader Topix Index jumped 1.5% to 2,970 on Thursday, with the latter reaching all-time highs as the recently announced trade deal with the US and Japan continued to support market momentum. Japan now faces a 15% tariff on its exports to the US, lower than the 25% levy that Trump threatened in a letter earlier this month. Global sentiment improved further on reports of progress in US-EU trade talks. On the domestic front, data showed that Japan's private sector growth held steady in July, with continued strength in services...
Asia-Pacific markets opened higher as the latest trade developments between the U.S. and Japan, as well as positive signs for a deal with the European Union, spurred investor optimism. Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 climbed 0.78% to a record close of 6,358.91 — its 12th of the year. Japan's broad-based Topix rose 1.2% to hit a record high in early Asia trading hours, data from LSEG showed. The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.09%, extending gains from Wednesday following the announcement of Japan's trade deal with the U.S. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.17% at the open, and the Kosdaq...