European stocks were on Thursday, with the STOXX 50 up 1% and the STOXX 600 gaining 0.6%, extending the previous session's rally that drove both benchmarks to fresh record closes. Technology shares were among the top performers, buoyed by momentum in Asia following OpenAI's agreement with South Korean chipmakers. Pharma stocks also extended gains after a relief rally in the prior session, amid signs that US President Trump's threatened tariffs on branded drugs may be less severe than feared after Pfizer struck a deal with the administration to offer discounted prescriptions through a new...
The STOXX 50 fell 0.5%, and the STOXX 600 dropped 0.3% on Friday, extending losses from the previous session as concerns over the economic outlook continued to weigh on investor sentiment. The U.S. is set to impose retaliatory tariffs on April 2, while the European Union's retaliatory measures have been delayed until mid-April. Travel and leisure shares were among the worst performers after London's Heathrow Airport was forced to close Friday due to a power outage caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation. Meanwhile, traders were closely watching a vote by Germany's upper house on...
The Hang Seng plunged 530 points, or 2.2%, to close at 23,690 on Friday (3/21), marking its second straight decline amid sharp declines across all sectors. The index fell 1.1% for the week, extending its decline to two weeks, as rising profit-taking in technology stocks and caution ahead of upcoming Chinese corporate earnings weighed on sentiment. Semiconductor Manufacturing dropped 7.1% to a one-month low, while Kuaishou Tech (-5.4%), Alibaba Group (-3.5%), and Tencent (-2.0%) also fell sharply. Consumer, property and financial stocks also fell, as China's newly announced "special action...
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Shipbuilding, Manufacturing and Services sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.51%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Mercari Inc (TYO:4385), which rose 7.45% or 182.50 points to trade at 2,633.50 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (TYO:8306) added 5.72% or 120.50 points to end at 2,226.00 and DeNA Co Ltd (TYO:2432) was up 4.08% or 137.00 points to 3,497.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436),...
Hong Kong stocks lost 283 points or 1.2 to 23,929 in Friday morning trade, marking their second straight session of decline as all sectors retreated. Sentiment remained weak following a drop on Wall Street overnight, as traders cautiously digested the latest U.S. economic data amid concerns over President Trump's tariffs. Meanwhile, uncertainty over the timing and scale of Beijing's latest plan to boost consumption prompted investors to move away from riskier assets. Among the early laggards were CK Asset Holdings (-5.7%), KE Holdings (-3.7%), Innovent Biologics (-3.6%), and Semiconductor...
The Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.5% to surpass 37,900, while the broader Topix Index rose 0.4% to 2,807 in post-holiday trade on Friday. Japanese stocks advanced as they caught up with global market gains, following the US Federal Reserve's signal of two interest rate cuts this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also reassured markets that tariff-driven inflation is likely "transitory." Both the Nikkei and Topix are on track to climb over 2% and 3%, respectively, for the week. In economic data, Japan's core inflation slowed to 3% in February from 3.2% in January but still exceeded forecasts of...