Stocks in Hong Kong surged 413 points, or 1.6%, to 26,043 in early trade on the first trading day of 2026, rebounding from losses in the previous session as markets reopened after the New Year break. Sentiment was lifted by a marked rise in U.S. futures, following solid year-end gains on Wall Street in 2025. While U.S. equities underperformed the strong returns of the past two years, annual gains remained resilient despite a global sell-off triggered by tariff announcements in April. All sectors of the Hang Seng Index participated in the rally, led by tech, consumer, and property stocks....
Japanese shares rose on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street gains, as traders bet U.S. labor market weakness would prompt a Federal Reserve rate cut next week. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.87%, or 378.38 points, to end at 43,837.67. Traders see a Fed rate cut next Wednesday as certain, with 7% odds on a half-point move, CME's FedWatch Tool showed. A week ago, markets still saw a chance of no cut, but weak payrolls shifted expectations. Producer and consumer inflation data this week are the final tests. In economic data, Japanese manufacturers' sentiment hit a three-year high in September, lifted by...
The Hang Seng Index opened higher today, gaining 104 points to reach 26,042, before extending its rise by 227 points, or 0.87%, to settle at 26,165. This marks the index's fourth consecutive day of increases. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index also rose by 80 points, or 0.87%, to 9,323, while the Technology Index climbed by 105 points, or 1.8%, to 5,933. Trading volume on the main board reached HK$73.7 billion. In the technology sector, stocks showed mixed results. Tencent rose by 1.5%, Alibaba experienced a significant gain of 3.5%, and Meituan increased by 2.1%. However, Xiaomi Group...
Japanese shares rose on expectations of expansionary fiscal policies even as the country's ruling party is set to hold a leadership contest and find a replacement for outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Sentiment was also upbeat after Wall Street's gains on hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to curb a jobs downturn. The Topix Index rose 0.1% to 3,126.18 as of 9:15 a.m. Tokyo time The Nikkei advanced 0.4% to 43,646.92 SoftBank Group Corp. contributed the most to the Topix Index gain, increasing 6.8%. Out of 1,676 stocks in the index,...
Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher Wednesday ahead of key August inflation data from China. The mainland's August consumer price index is expected to fall 0.2% from the previous year, according to economists polled by Reuters, and compares with July's flat reading. Meanwhile, the producer price index is expected to fall 2.9% year on year, improving from the 3.6% drop in July. Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark opened 0.2% higher, while the Topix index was flat. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 opened flat. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was set to open higher, with the futures...
All three major indexes closed at record highs Tuesday as investors moved past concerns about the state of the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 index settled up 0.27% at 6,512.61, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.37% to end the day at 21,879.49, with the latter hitting a new all-time intraday high as well. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 196.39 points, or 0.43%, at 45,711.34, thanks to a surge in UnitedHealth shares. Investor worries that the economy may not be holding up as well as previously thought were exacerbated Tuesday after the Bureau of Labor Statistics updated its...