US stocks were higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.3%, the Nasdaq edging up 0.1%, and the Dow Jones jumping more than 250 points. The gains followed fresh record closes for the S&P 500 in back-to-back sessions. Investor sentiment was buoyed by renewed trade optimism after President Trump announced a deal with Japan that would lower tariffs from 25% to 15%. Japan also committed to investing $550 billion in the US and opening its markets to key American goods. Additionally, a trade agreement with the Philippines was announced, while hopes are growing that a deal with the EU...
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.9% at 20,597.09 in Hong Kong. The move was the biggest since falling 1.6% on Jan. 22 and follows the previous session's increase of 2.8%. AIA Group Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.9%. Nongfu Spring Co. had the largest drop, falling 6.9%. Today, 67 of 83 shares fell, while 15 rose; all sectors were lower, led by commerce and industry stocks. Source: Bloomberg
European markets opened in negative territory on Wednesday (2/5), with investors looking ahead to more earnings from a number of major companies. Earnings are due from Handelsbanken, TotalEnergies, Akzo Nobel, Credit Agricole, Novo Nordisk, GSK, Vestas Wind and Banco Santander, among others. On the data front, the latest purchasing managers' index data from the euro zone is due on Wednesday. Regional markets were mostly flat on Tuesday as investors continued to monitor developments in U.S. trade policy under President Donald Trump, and after China announced tariffs on U.S. imports in...
Japanese stocks rose after the close on Wednesday (2/5), as gains in the Textiles, Marine Transportation and Services sectors boosted shares. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.08%. The best performers on the Nikkei 225 were Bandai Namco Holdings Inc (TYO:7832), which rose 13.73% or 530.00 points to trade at 4,389.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Panasonic Corp (TYO:6752) rose 13.66% or 209.00 points to close at 1,738.50 and Honda Motor Co Ltd (TYO:7267) gained 8.19% or 113.50 points to 1,500.00 in late trade. The worst performers on the session were Yokogawa Electric Corp....
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street rose overnight, shrugging off Trump tariffs and China's retaliatory measures. All eyes are on China, which resumed trading after the Lunar New Year holidays and as the Chinese government announced tariffs on U.S. imports in retaliation to duties on its exports. Mainland China's CSI300 Index started the day up, but reversed course to drop 0.61%. China's Caixin Services PMI came in at 51.0 in January, compared with December's 52.2 reading, showing a slowdown in the country's services activity. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index started...
The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 moved higher on Tuesday due to a strong gain in Palantir as Wall Street sought stable footing following the latest developments on the global trade front. The tech-heavy index jumped 1.35% to 19,654.02, while the S&P 500 rose 0.72% to 6,037.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 134.13 points, or 0.3%, to 44,556.04. Palantir shares popped about 24% on fourth-quarter results that beat analysts' expectations and had hit a fresh record high. Other Big Tech names such as Nvidia were moving in sympathy with Palantir's climb.The chip giant advanced...