The Nikkei 225 rose 267 points, or 0.5%, to end at 50,675 on Friday, rebounding from three muted sessions and posting a second straight weekly gain of 0.7%, lifted by strength in several heavyweight blue chips. Meanwhile, Japan's broader Topix index briefly hit a record high before easing. Sentiment was lifted by cabinet approval of a record budget for FY 2026, aimed at balancing proactive fiscal support with long-term debt management, and set to be submitted to the Diet in January. Markets also reacted to plans that Tokyo may reduce issuance of super-long bonds next year, pulling benchmark...
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave monetary policy settings unchanged following the January meeting.Fed Chairman Powell's presser could provide important clues about the rate outlook.The US Dollar could come under bearish pressure if the Fed leaves a rate cut in March on the table. The United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) will announce monetary policy decisions following the first policy meeting of the year on Wednesday. Market participants widely anticipate that the US central bank will leave monetary policy settings unchanged after cutting the interest rate by 25 basis...
European stocks closed firmly higher on Wednesday, extending the rebound from the prior session as markets assessed a batch of major earnings and the risks to European growth should US President Trump follow through with earlier tariff threats. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 closed 0.6% higher at 6,337, the highest in over 24 years, while the STOXX 600 gained 0.5% to close at another record high of 534. ASML jumped by 5.8% after its fourth-quarter bookings exceeded estimates. Tech shares led the gains to extend the recovery from the selloff in AI-infrastructure stocks on Monday, with Schneider...
European stocks hit record highs on Wednesday (29/1), as chip equipment maker ASML (ASML) led tech shares higher after reporting strong quarterly results. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.5%, as of 0923 GMT, surpassing Tuesday's all-time closing high. ASML shares jumped 11.2% after the Dutch company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter orders of 7.09 billion euros ($7.39 billion). ASML's earnings also reassured investors that the outlook for AI chips remains healthy, as they recovered from a selloff earlier this week triggered by the release of China's DeepSeek model, which...
Japanese stocks rose after the close on Wednesday (1/29), as gains in the Services, Transportation Equipment and Transportation sectors boosted shares. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.02%. The best performers on the Nikkei 225 were Renesas Electronics Corp (TYO:6723), which rose 5.85% or 119.50 points to close at 2,162.50. Meanwhile, Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (TYO:7735) rose 4.61% or 470.00 points to close at 10,675.00 and Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) gained 4.36% or 356.00 points to close at 8,518.00. The worst performers of the session were Shin-Etsu Chemical Co.,...
Japanese stocks rebounded on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 Index climbing 1% to around 39,400 and the broader Topix Index rising 0.4% to 2,768, recovering from losses in the previous session when technology stocks faced a selloff. The decline on Tuesday was driven by concerns over the emergence of Chinese startup DeepSeek, which posed a challenge to the dominance of Western artificial intelligence leaders. Meanwhile, minutes from the Bank of Japan's December meeting revealed that the central bank maintained a cautious stance on monetary policy, emphasizing that any adjustments would...