Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Wednesday, following gains on Wall Street ahead of a potential U.S. government shutdown as lawmakers continue to wrangle over details of a second temporary spending bill. Investors in Asia will look toward the Reserve Bank of India's rate decision late Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 sunk 0.2% at its open, while the broad based Topix was down 0.85%. In South Korea, the blue-chip Kospi was up 0.94%, and the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.84%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.32% in early trade. Markets on mainland China and Hong Kong were closed for a...
The US stock market moved without a clear direction on Tuesday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fluctuated, while the Dow Jones rose about 200 points, extending the previous day's gains. The S&P 500's quarterly performance recorded its best record since 2023. Investors are still watching developments in trade negotiations and discussions on the budget bill in the US Congress. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the impact of tariffs on prices would likely only be seen in the next few months. However, he also emphasized that most Fed officials support a rate cut before the end of...
Both the STOXX 50 and the STOXX 600 edged up 0.1% on Tuesday, as investors continued to monitor trade negotiations with the US ahead of the looming July 9th deadline for reciprocal tariffs. Bloomberg reported that the European Union is open to a deal involving a 10% universal tariff on many of its exports, but is seeking concessions from the US on key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, alcohol, semiconductors, and commercial aircraft. The EU's trade chief is expected to lead a delegation to Washington this week in an effort to advance the talks, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. On...
Japan's Nikkei share average snapped a five-day winning streak to fall more than 1% on Tuesday, as investors sold stocks amid uncertainty over U.S.-Japan trade talks. The Nikkei fell 1.24% to 39,986.33, slipping from the highest level since mid-July, which it reached in the previous session. The broader Topix slipped 0.73% to 2,832.07. "The market was overheated, but there were some factors that boosted demand last month," said Hiroyuki Ueno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management. Japanese equities mirrored a rally in U.S. stocks in the past several sessions, but...
Japanese shares slid, snapping a five-day winning streak, as a stronger yen weighed on exporters and fresh comments from Donald Trump clouded expectations for progress in US-Japan tariff negotiations. Topix Index fell 0.8% to 2,830.16 as of 10:37 a.m. Tokyo time Nikkei declined 1.1% to 40,035.03 Out of 1,681 stocks in the Topix, 433 rose and 1,191 fell, while 57 were unchanged. The yen rose as much as 0.4% against the dollar Tuesday morning, holding its gains after better-than-forecast business sentiment data. That pressured large-cap exporters and dragged down the...
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Tuesday as investors assessed the record gains on Wall Street and the global impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies as his 90-day tariff reprieve is set to expire next week. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that there are "countries that are negotiating in good faith." However, he added that tariffs could still "spring back" to the levels announced on April 2 "if we can't get across the line because they are being recalcitrant." Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark fell 0.58% after hitting an over 11-month high in its previous...