Stocks in the US closed near the flatline on Friday as investors weighed President Trump's push for higher tariffs on the European Union against strong economic data and corporate earnings. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 finished mostly muted near their records, while the Dow Jones dropped 142 points, pressured by a 2.2% decline in American Express shares. Trump reportedly demands a minimum 15-20% tariff in any deal with the EU, which is working to finalize an agreement before his August 1 deadline. On the corporate front, Netflix shares fell 5.1% despite beating revenue and earnings...
Asian stocks rose after the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge came in below expectations, rekindling bets of a rate cut. The dollar was steady. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index snapped a six-day slide, with indexes in Australia, Japan and South Korea up about 0.5%. Futures in Hong Kong pointed to gains. U.S. equity contracts rose after the S&P 500 Index rose 1.1% on Friday, as personal consumption spending rose at its slowest pace since May. Monday's gains will provide some relief to global markets after stocks suffered their worst weekly decline in more than three months as a...
The Hang Seng Index fell for a second day, down 0.2%, or 31.81, to 19,720.70 in Hong Kong. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. contributed the most to the index's decline, dropping 3.4%. Kuaishou Technology was the biggest decliner, down 5.4%. For the day, 48 of 83 stocks fell, while 29 rose; three of four sectors fell, led by financials. Source: Bloomberg
European markets opened lower on Friday as investors monitored political turmoil in the US and monetary policy decisions from major economies. The United States was plunged into fresh political uncertainty late Thursday, after the failure of a Trump-backed spending bill that would have averted a government shutdown. Dozens of Republican lawmakers voted against a deal to fund the government for three months and suspend the US debt ceiling for two years, meaning a partial government shutdown will begin on Friday night. Elsewhere, China kept its key interest rate steady on Friday, in line...
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.29% to close at 38,702, while the broader Topix Index fell 0.44% to 2,702 on Friday, marking the sixth consecutive session of losses as investors reacted to stronger-than-expected inflation data. Japan's headline inflation rate rose to a three-month high of 2.9% in November, up from 2.3% in October, while the core inflation rate increased to 2.7%, surpassing market expectations of 2.6%. These figures support a hawkish outlook for Bank of Japan (BOJ) monetary policy. However, the BOJ chose to keep rates unchanged at its December meeting, citing the need to...
Japanese shares are rising slightly on Friday as the yen's weakening on dovish signals from the Bank of Japan supported export-related sectors such as automakers, steel producers and shippers. The Topix Index rose 0.2% to 2,719.63 as of 9:30 a.m. Tokyo time The Nikkei advanced 0.2% to 38,880.21 Toyota Motor Corp. contributed the most to the Topix Index's gain, increasing 2.8%. Out of 2,126 stocks in the index, 1,195 rose and 775 fell, while 156 were unchanged. With key domestic and overseas monetary policy events out of the way, domestic demand-linked...