The Hang Seng Index plunged 376 points, or 1.4%, to close at 25,907 on Friday, marking its third consecutive session of decline amid widespread declines across sectors. Market sentiment weakened after China's official PMI showed manufacturing activity contracted at its fastest pace in six months in October, while service sector growth remained weak. Meanwhile, the temporary US-China trade truce failed to boost confidence, with investors viewing it as a short-term respite rather than a meaningful breakthrough. Further pressure came after US Federal Reserve Chairman Powell signaled that a...
Asia-Pacific markets fell Monday, tracking U.S. stocks futures that were lower ahead of key economic data, with escalating trade tensions denting investor sentiment. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he was planning to announce a blanket 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports on Monday, according to Reuters. Over in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was trading flat, while the broader Topix index fell 0.16%, in choppy trading. The country reported loan growth of 3% year on year in January, falling slightly from December's 3.1%. South Korea's Kospi was flat in...
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday, tracking U.S. stocks futures that were lower ahead of key economic data, with escalating trade tensions denting investor sentiment.U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he was planning to announce a blanket 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports on Monday, according to Reuters.Over in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.1%, while the broader Topix index fell 0.27%, in choppy trading.The country reported loan growth of 3% year on year in January, falling slightly from December's 3.1%.South Korea's indexes opened lower,...
Hong Kong's equities surged 253 points or 1.2% to 21,389 on Monday morning deals, marking the third session of gains and holding their highest in three months. Optimism toward China's tech sector continued to boost sentiment following the sudden emergence of low-cost AI model DeepSeek. At the same time, concerns over deflation risks in the mainland eased after consumer inflation hit a five-month top of 0.5% in January, topping consensus of 0.4%. Gains were broad-based, with top movers from tech, consumers, and financials. Further increases were tempered by news that President Trump will...
The Nikkei 225 and Topix indexes showed mixed movements on Monday as global market sentiment was dampened by the looming threat of new US tariffs. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced a blanket 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, set to take effect later today. Domestically, investors looked ahead to key earnings reports this week, particularly from Honda and Nissan, following the fallout from integration talks between the two automakers. Corporate earnings from SoftBank Group, Orix Corporation, Fujikura, Obayasha Corp, and Shiseido are also in focus. In contrast, shares...
Japan's current account surplus increased to JPY 1,077.3 billion in December 2024 from JPY 914.5 billion in the same month a year earlier, falling short of market estimates for a gain of JPY 1,362 billion. Still, it was the 23rd successive month of surplus in the current account, as the services account deficit decreased sharply to just JPY 0.21 billion from JPY 266.3 billion in the previous year. Also, the secondary income gap narrowed slightly to JPY 240.1 billion from JPY 251.5 billion. At the same time, the primary income surplus fell to JPY 1,275.5 billion from JPY 1,308.6 billion in...