Asia-Pacific stock markets are expected to open mixed on Friday, marking a cautious start to the new year. This movement follows the New Year's Eve close of US markets, where the three major Wall Street indexes weakened, although overall they still posted positive performance for 2025. Several major Asian markets remain closed for the New Year holiday, including Japan and mainland China. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index opened relatively stable with no major movements. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index futures were at 25,648, slightly higher than the last close of 25,630.54,...
The STOXX 50 index closed little changed at 5,749 during a shortened and quiet Christmas Eve trading session, while the STOXX 600 ended slightly above the flatline at 588.8, after closing at a record high the previous day. Luxury stocks outperformed, with LVMH jumping 0.8%, Hermes adding 0.6%, and L'Oreal edging up 0.3%. Iberdrola also rose 0.3%. Conversely, ASML Holding and AstraZeneca each fell 0.5%, Airbus fell 0.2%, and Unilever ended 0.4% lower. BP pared early gains to end down 0.4% after agreeing to sell a 65% stake in Castrol to Stonepeak. Elsewhere, Sanofi fell 0.7% after...
The Hang Seng Index rose 45 points, or 0.2%, to close at 25,819 on Wednesday, rebounding from a slight decline in the prior session as most sectors posted modest gains in thin holiday trading, led by financials. Sentiment was further lifted by a sixth straight advance in the Shanghai benchmark. Meanwhile, the Trump administration announced Tuesday plans to impose tariffs on Chinese semiconductor imports over Beijing's "unreasonable" push for chip industry dominance, though implementation will be delayed until June 2027, limiting near-term impact. Investors also looked ahead to November...
The STOXX 50 rose 0.1% and the STOXX 600 added 0.4% during the shortened Christmas Eve trading session, following the STOXX 600's close at a fresh record high the previous day. Trading volumes are expected to remain light, with no major economic releases scheduled in Europe. Commodity-linked stocks were among the top performers, led by energy shares amid rising oil and metal prices. BP gained 0.5% after agreeing to sell a 65% stake in Castrol to Stonepeak, while Shell rose 0.3% and TotalEnergies advanced 0.8%. The luxury sector also posted gains, with LVMH up 0.4%, Hermes adding 0.3%, and...
The Nikkei 225 fell 212 points, or 0.4%, to close at 50,255 on Wednesday, reversing early gains as sentiment turned sour amid a stronger yen that eroded overseas earnings for export-heavy firms. Autos led declines, with Toyota down 1.8%, Subaru off 1.2%, and Honda Motor slipping modestly. Financial shares also retreated, giving back part of last week's sharp rally after the Bank of Japan last week raised rates to a three-decade high. Meanwhile, minutes from the central bank's October meeting showed policymakers broadly agreed real interest rates remain low, reinforcing expectations of...
Hong Kong shares edged up 51 points, or 0.2%, to 25,824 in Wednesday morning trade, reversing mild losses from the previous session after Wall Street's S&P 500 closed at a fresh high overnight as data showed the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in two years. Investors weighed reports that China plans to step up urban renewal and strengthen efforts to stabilize the property market starting in 2026, at the launch of its new Five-Year Plan (2026–2030). However, gains were capped by local data showing Hong Kong's current account surplus narrowed to HKD 98.2 billion in Q3 2025 from HKD...