Asian stock markets opened cautiously at the start of the week, with the MSCI Asia Pacific index rising slightly by 0.2%. The Kospi led the gains, while Japan's Nikkei index fell 0.5% after data showed the Japanese economy contracted again. Japanese retail and tourism stocks also weakened due to escalating tensions with China. US stock futures rose 0.3%, providing some positive sentiment. Investors are now awaiting a slew of US economic data, which returns after a long pause due to the shutdown, including the jobs report. At the same time, risk appetite appears to be weakening as AI stock...
Asian markets moved mixed on Wednesday. Japan's shares edged lower, while Australia and several other indices gained. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.26%, but the Topix rose 0.35%. In South Korea, the Kospi was flat, and the Kosdaq rose 0.62%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.13%. Hang Seng futures pointed to a slightly higher opening at 26,865, compared to the previous close of 26,696.41.The main highlight came from SoftBank Group. The Japanese company revealed it sold its entire stake in Nvidia for US$5.83 billion in October, in line with its "all-in" strategy for OpenAI. SoftBank also...
The Nikkei index weakened 0.3% to 50,674.53 on Wednesday, dragged down by declines in technology and semiconductor stocks. SoftBank Group (-5.9%), Kioxia (-2.8%), and Advantest (-2.8%) led the decline, indicating that risk appetite for growth stocks remains fragile. Interestingly, the Topix index rose 0.5% to 3,338.87, signaling a rotation into more defensive or value sectors—such as financials, industrials, and raw materials—amid pressure on major tech names. This means the market is not entirely risk-off, but rather more selective. In the forex market, USD/JPY was at 154.07 (from 154.22...
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 630 points to a new record high, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.3% as investors shifted from technology stocks to blue-chip and cyclical stocks on expectations that a funding deal would pass the House of Representatives this week. Progress in the Senate toward reopening the government lifted sentiment in economy-sensitive sectors, while leading healthcare companies such as Merck (+4.8%), Amgen (+4.6%), and Johnson & Johnson (+2.9%) boosted the Dow. Hopes that the government's reopening would release delayed...
US stock indices were muted on Tuesday amid fresh labor market concerns and continued skepticism on whether AI valuations are warranted by fundamentals. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 inched lower, while the Dow was close to the flatline. Data from the ADP indicated an average of 11,250 jobs were lost per week through most of October, consolidating the wave of pessimistic labour reports released by other private sources. In the meantime, stocks with exposure to soaring AI capital expenditures remained under pressure from recent concerns of frothiness after SoftBank sold its entire $5.8...
Stocks in Europe were higher on Tuesday, with the STOXX 50 adding 0.5% and the STOXX 600 rising 0.6%, extending gains from the previous session, amid further signs the end of the US government shutdown is close. After a pact reached in the Senate on Sunday between some Democrats who defected the party's leadership and some Republicans, the US Senate voted 60-40 yesterday to pass a bill to end the longest ever government shutdown in the US. Fresh corporate updates also boosted investor sentiment. Shares of LVMH were up 1.8% after Bloomberg reported the luxury brand is set to open major...