US stocks closed sharply lower on Friday as a Broadcom-led rout among the largest tech weights sparked a rotation into cyclicals and defensive names. The S&P 500 fell 1% and the Dow gave back 0.4% after touching record highs, while the Nasdaq dropped 1.8%, with Broadcom plunging 11.4% after warning of margin pressure. Other heavyweight, AI-exposed and semiconductor names also posted steep losses, including Nvidia (-3.3%), Oracle (-4.5%), Palantir (-2.1%), AMD (-4.8%), and Micron (-6.7%) setting the pace for a sharp selloff in the sector. The pullback reflects margin concerns and growing...
The Nikkei index opened up around 0.2% to 50,707.54, following positive sentiment on Wall Street after the Fed cut interest rates. Today's gains were led by financial and trading house stocks; Dai-ichi Life Holdings rose around 2.4%, while Sumitomo Corp. gained around 2.5%, reflecting a return to risk appetite in the Japanese stock market. On the currency side, USD/JPY weakened to 155.62 from 156.73 at the previous close, signaling a strengthening yen following the Fed's decision. Investors are now focusing on the release of domestic economic data and PM Sanae Takaichi's policy statement...
European equities edged lower on Wednesday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision, limiting risk taking across regional markets. The STOXX 50 fell 0.3%, while the STOXX 600 was little changed, reflecting broader uncertainty as traders waited for guidance on the US interest rate outlook beyond an expected cut later in the day. Investors were also weighing a series of corporate updates. Aegon sank nearly 10% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after unveiling plans to relocate its head office to the US and rebrand under its largest subsidiary,...
European shares inched lower on Wednesday, as investors refrained from placing big bets ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, while also parsing through a slate of corporate updates. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.1% at 577.43 by 0808 GMT, on track for its fourth session of declines. Major regional benchmarks also dipped, with the ones in Germany and Spain down 0.1% each. France's CAC 40 also lost 0.1% after lawmakers narrowly approved the 2026 social security budget on Tuesday, handing the government a victory but at a political and financial...
The Hang Seng rose 106 points or 0.4% to close at 25,541 on Wednesday, rebounding from morning losses and closing in the green for the first time in three sessions as most sectors gained. Sentiment improved as traders anticipated a third straight rate cut from the U.S. Fed later today, along with rate projections through 2026 in the "dot plot." Markets also looked ahead to guidance from the upcoming Central Economic Work Conference in China, which is expected to emphasize a more proactive fiscal stance alongside moderately accommodative monetary support. Fresh data showed China's annual...
Japanese stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 index down 0.1%, or 52.30 points, to 50,602.80. This weakening occurred ahead of the Fed's important decision, while the yen had fallen sharply overnight before stabilizing around 156.64 per dollar. The market currently rates the chance of a 25-bps Fed rate cut to a range of 3.50%–3.75% at 89%, but sees only a small chance of a further cut in January due to expectations of hawkish guidance. Data-wise, Japanese producer prices rose 0.3% in November, driven by the energy and metals sectors. Export prices rose slightly,...