The Hang Seng Index started the day with a decline of 135 points, or 0.53%, settling at 25,531 points. The China Enterprises Index dropped 41 points, or 0.45%, to 9,216 points, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 29 points, or 0.51%, to 5,713 points. Technology stocks faced downward pressure, with Kuaishou sliding by 1.57%, Alibaba dropping 1%, Tencent falling 0.9%, and Trip.com Group losing 0.39%. Xiaomi Group recorded a marginal decline of 0.09%, while Meituan remained unchanged. Financial stocks showed a mixed trend. AIA Group saw the largest drop, down 1.89%, followed by Ping An...
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.8% to around 37,000 while the broader Topix Index lost 0.5% to 2,720 on Thursday, with Japanese shares hitting a two-week low and tracking a sharp selloff on Wall Street overnight. US stocks sold off on Wednesday as Treasury yields surged on concerns that a new US bill could further inflate the federal deficit. In domestic developments, Japan's core machinery orders a key leading indicator of capital investment unexpectedly surged 13% in March, far outpacing expectations for a 1.6% decline. Despite the upbeat data, sentiment was weighed down by weak economic...
Asia-Pacific markets fell on Thursday, tracking declines on Wall Street as investor sentiment soured on fears that a new U.S. budget bill would put even more stress on the country's ballooning debt. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1.06% at the open, while the Topix lost 0.85%. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.59% and the small-cap Kosdaq declined 0.69%. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.36%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.24% in the open while mainland China's CSI 300 fell 0.14%.Investors will be looking out for the unveiling of New Zealand's 2025 budget. Stock futures...
U.S. stocks plunged on Wednesday as a surge in Treasury yields and fresh fiscal concerns weighed on investor sentiment. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 817 points. Long-term bond yields jumped after a weak auction of $16 billion in 20-year Treasury notes, with the 30-year yield jumping to around 5.08%, its highest since 2023 amid growing concerns that a tax and spending bill in Washington could further widen the federal deficit. Retail earnings added to the jitters: Target (-5.2%) missed estimates, cut its outlook...
European stocks closed flat on Wednesday to hold a near two-month high hit in the previous session, as a lack of fresh catalysts maintained the prospect that higher government spending in Europe would boost investment among corporate giants. The STOXX 50 closed flat at 5,455 and the pan-European STOXX 600 was flat at 554. Technology stocks led gains in the session, with Infineon jumping 2.5% after announcing a collaboration with Nvidia to develop a new power delivery architecture for data centers. Deutsche Telekom, Nokia, ASML and technology holding company Prosus also closed higher. On...
US stocks were lower on Wednesday, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq falling 0.5% and the Dow Jones losing more than 300 points, extending losses from the previous session. Investor sentiment weakened amid growing concerns over the US fiscal outlook, with lawmakers discussing President Trump's tax-and-spending bill that will likely increase the budget deficits by nearly $3 billion over a decade. Frustration is also mounting over the lack of progress in trade negotiations. Consumer discretionary was by far the worst performing sector while communication services manged to stay in the...