The Hang Seng slipped 224 points, or 0.9%, to close early at 25,630 on the final trading day of 2025, as markets closed early ahead of the New Year. The index reversed the prior session's strength as losses spread across all sectors, with tech, consumer, and financial stocks leading the declines. Still, the index posted a second straight annual gain, climbing nearly 28% in 2025. The rally was boosted by a buoyant IPO market in Hong Kong, easing U.S. China trade tensions, and Beijing's pledge to support economic growth through proactive fiscal spending and accommodative monetary...
Japanese stock markets weakened, with the Nikkei index falling 1.3% to 50,378.09. This pressure arose from concerns that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could soon raise interest rates, coupled with still-strong US labor market data. This sentiment made investors more cautious and tended to reduce positions in risky assets. Electronics and retail stocks were the most heavily sold. Renesas Electronics fell 4.3%, while Aeon Co. fell 2.4%, reflecting concerns that higher borrowing costs could depress consumption and investment. In the foreign exchange market, USD/JPY traded at 155.16, slightly...
The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Thursday (December 4th) relatively flat as investors focused on next week's Federal Reserve decision and weighed mixed US employment signals, which have the market highly anticipating a 25bps interest rate cut. ADP reported a surprise decline of about 32,000 in private sector payrolls, while Challenger reported 71,321 job cuts announced in November, reinforcing expectations of easing despite weekly initial claims falling to about 191,000. Treasury yields edged higher, with the 10-year yield near 4.10%, pressuring...
European stocks closed higher on Thursday (December 2nd), supported by a rebound in shares of major banks and automakers. The Eurozone STOXX 50 and the broader STOXX 600 both rose 0.5%. Inditex jumped 2.6%, extending its gains from the previous session after the conglomerate posted strong results and confirmed its full-year outlook. Similarly, Stellantis rose 3.6%, extending this week's rally to more than 10% after its rating was upgraded by UBS. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen each rose more than 3%, leading the broader auto sector's gains amid a rating upgrade from Bank of America....
Stocks in the US were higher on Thursday, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rising 0.2% and the Dow Jones adding about 80 points, led by gains in financials and communication services. Shares of Meta soared almost 4% after Bloomberg reported executives are considering potential budget cuts as high as 30% for the metaverse group next year. JPMorgan also added more than 1%, Nvidia gained 0.5% and Salesforce was up 0.7% after the company offered a stronger-than-expected revenue forecast. Meanwhile, traders continue to bet the Fed will deliver another rate cut next week. The odds for...
The Hang Seng rose 175 points or 0.7% to close at 25,936 on Thursday, partly rebounding from a steep fall the prior day amid firmer U.S. futures ahead of Friday's PCE index and the Fed's final policy meeting of the year, where a 25bps rate cut is widely expected. Meanwhile, China may keep its 2026 growth target at around 5% as top leaders convene later this month to map out next year's economic agenda. On the corporate front, Country Garden secured shareholder approval for USD 13 billion in convertible bonds as the indebted builder pushes forward with its debt restructuring. CMOC Hong Kong...