Stocks were little changed Wednesday as Wall Street got ready to close out a bumper year for equities. Stocks are riding a three-session losing streak, although the declines have been mild and the S&P 500 is still set to lock in a 17% gain for the year, its third straight double-digit annual gain. The Nasdaq Composite has ridden AI enthusiasm to a 21% advance. The Dow is up 13% for 2025, hindered a bit by its lack of tech representation in the 30-stock average. That marks an impressive recovery from the rout seen in early April following President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs...
Hong Kong shares rose 138 points, or 0.7%, to 20,447 on Wednesday morning, bouncing back from losses in the previous session as China kicks off its annual economic work meeting later in the day to discuss policy for next year. Meanwhile, the Politburo has hinted at more aggressive stimulus amid a potential trade spat with the US. Economists expect the Chinese government to set a higher budget deficit target of up to 4% of GDP, allowing for more borrowing to support the sluggish economy. However, gains were capped by weak Chinese trade data for November, highlighted by a sharp slowdown in...
The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2% to around 39,300 on Wednesday, ending a two-day winning streak following Wall Street's overnight decline, as investors braced for a key U.S. inflation report. Market sentiment was also affected by mixed economic data out of Japan. The Reuters Tankan index turned negative in December, while the BSI manufacturing sentiment reading showed improvement in the fourth quarter. Additionally, data revealed that Japanese producer prices rose at the fastest pace in 16 months in November. Technology stocks led the decline, with significant losses from Disco (-3%),...
Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher on Wednesday, in contrast to Wall Street's main benchmarks that fell ahead of key inflation data that could influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. South Korea reported a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 2.7% in November, Statistics Korea said, unchanged from the previous month China reportedly began its annual economic work conference on Wednesday to outline its economic policies and growth targets for next year. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 started the day down 0.31%. Japan's Nikkei 225 and the broad-based Topix opened...
Wall Street's main indexes closed lower on Tuesday as investors anxiously awaited key inflation reports that could influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision next week. Among the S&P 500's 11 major industry sectors, communication services was the biggest boost with help from a rally in shares of Google-parent Alphabet after it unveiled a new chip. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 16.53 points, or 0.27%, to end at 6,036.32 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 49.45 points, or 0.25%, to 19,687.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 143.46 points, or...
European markets ended an eight-day rally on Tuesday, with the Stoxx 50 down 0.7% and the Stoxx 600 off 0.5%, led by a 1.1% drop in industrials. Weaker-than-expected Chinese import and export data dragged mining stocks 0.8% lower, while traders awaited US inflation data on Wednesday. Among notable stocks, Delivery Hero fell 10% after its Talabat unit's weak debut on the Dubai exchange. Ashtead dropped over 11% after announcing a New York primary listing and lower profit guidance. TeamViewer slid 12% after a $720 million acquisition of software firm 1E. On the upside, Commerzbank gained...