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...
Wall Street faced a broad sell-off on Wednesday, led by a steep downturn in tech stocks as trade tensions escalated and investors digested cautious remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The S&P 500 lost 2.2%, the Dow dropped nearly 700 points, and the Nasdaq sank 3%. Nvidia plunging 6.9% after the chipmaker disclosed it would take a $5.5 billion charge due to new US export restrictions on its AI chips bound for China. Other chipmakers followed suit, with AMD (-7.3%) and Micron Technology (-2.4%) both falling on cost warnings and weak demand. Powell's speech in Chicago added...
European stocks trimmed early losses but still lower on Wednesday, pressured by pessimistic corporate earnings and persistent concerns that tariffs by the US government will erode growth for major economies. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 closed marginally below the flatline at 4,967 and the pan-European STOXX 600 dropped 0.2% to close at 507. ASML posted a decline in its revenues and noted that concerns surrounding the unpredictable economic policy in the US is likely to hit orders from its main clients, driving its share price to plunge by 5.2%. In the meantime, LVMH lost 1% to extend its...
Stocks fell on Wednesday as investors assessed a stark warning from Nvidia that pressured global tech. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 180 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 dropped 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 1.8%. Shares of Nvidia lost 6% after the chip giant said it will post a $5.5 billion quarterly charge related to exporting its H20 graphics processing units to China and other nations. The company said in a filing that the U.S. government required a license to send chips from the U.S. to China. Other chipmakers followed Nvidia lower. AMD slid more than 6%, while...
The Hang Seng tumbled 409 points or 1.9% to close at 21,057 on Wednesday, snapping six-session of gains as U.S. futures plunged amid mounting uncertainty over U.S. trade tariffs. Markets fell from a two-month high after some major banks, including Morgan Stanley and UBS, cut China's 2024 growth outlook due to tariff pressure. Goldman Sachs also warned that previous export frontloading may weigh on Q2 growth. China's economy expanded 5.4% yoy in Q1, holding steady for the second quarter and beating consensus of 5.1%. Losses were almost broad-based, led by tech stocks, with the sector...
European markets opened lower on Wednesday as uncertainty over the direction of U.S. trade tariffs continues to dent sentiment. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was 0.93% lower at 8:45 a.m. U.K. time following two strong sessions of gains. Critical chip firm ASML dropped 5.5% after it missed expectations on net bookings and flagged uncertainty around U.S. trade. Industry peer ASM International was pulled 3.85% lower. U.K. inflation data for March came in at 2.6% in March, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday, below the 2.7% forecast in a Reuters...