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...
U.S. stocks closed mostly flat on Thursday as investors weighed the impact of President Trump's newly passed tax and spending bill on growing concerns over the ballooning U.S. deficit. The S&P 500 and Dow closed slightly lower, while the Nasdaq rose 0.3%. Wall Street remained cautious, with the bill — featuring tax cuts and increased defense spending — now heading to the Senate and potentially adding trillions of dollars to the $36 trillion national debt. The Congressional Budget Office pegs the cost at nearly $4 trillion, stoking concerns of fiscal instability. The bond market...
European stocks fell on Thursday as worries over rising bond yields curbed investor appetite for risky assets. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.6% by the close, following steep declines Wednesday across US markets after a disappointing Treasury auction sent yields surging. Consumer products and autos were the biggest laggards, while the personal care and chemical sectors outperformed. Renewable-energy stocks, including Orsted A/S and Vestas Wind Systems A/S, fell after House Republicans released a new version of the tax and spending bill that...
The three major averages in the US swung between small gains and losses on Thursday, as investors weighed ongoing concerns about the nation's fiscal outlook. The House narrowly passed President Trump's new tax bill, which is expected to widen the budget deficit by nearly $3 billion over the next decade and includes a $4 trillion increase in the US debt ceiling. The legislation now heads to the Senate, with a vote anticipated by August. Meanwhile, market participants are monitoring developments on the trade front and awaiting the release of flash S&P Global PMI data, which will offer an...
The Hang Seng fell 283 points or 1.2% to close at 23,544 on Thursday, ending a two-day winning streak amid losses in global stocks following a sell-off on Wall Street due to concerns over U.S. fiscal stability. Meanwhile, President Trump pushed to pass a major spending and tax-cut package through Congress. The index retreated from a near two-month high, with sharp declines in tech, property, and consumer stocks. Limiting further weakness were reports that Morgan Stanley raised its 2025 GDP forecast for China to 4.5% and 4.2% for 2024, citing easing Sino-U.S. trade tensions and expected...
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.92%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:5801), which rose 11.33% or 635.00 points to trade at 6,238.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. (TYO:5802) added 2.61% or 68.50 points to end at 2,693.00 and Mitsubishi Logistics Corp. (TYO:9301) was up 2.33% or 25.50 points to 1,118.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the...