Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Wednesday, following gains on Wall Street ahead of a potential U.S. government shutdown as lawmakers continue to wrangle over details of a second temporary spending bill. Investors in Asia will look toward the Reserve Bank of India's rate decision late Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 sunk 0.2% at its open, while the broad based Topix was down 0.85%. In South Korea, the blue-chip Kospi was up 0.94%, and the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.84%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.32% in early trade. Markets on mainland China and Hong Kong were closed for a...
European markets opened higher on Thursday as investors eyed further earnings releases and awaited the latest monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank. The regional Stoxx 600 index rose 0.26% shortly after the market opened. Air France-KLM shares rose more than 16% after the airline group beat market expectations for full-year and fourth-quarter operating profits. Germany's Lufthansa rose 7% on its own annual results, which showed a decline in annual profit but also slightly above consensus. DHL Group, listed as Deutsche Post, jumped 9% after announcing a 1 billion euro...
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Shipbuilding, Textile and Marine Transport sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.91%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Japan Steel Works Ltd (TYO:5631), which rose 15.86% or 843.00 points to trade at 6,159.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7011) added 10.79% or 245.50 points to end at 2,520.50 and Okuma Corp. (TYO:6103) was up 8.04% or 265.00 points to 3,560.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Mitsubishi...
Shares in Hong Kong soared 520 points or 2.2 to 24,115 on Thursday morning deals, marking the third session of gains while reaching their highest level in over three years. This followed an overnight rally on Wall Street in the wake of President Trump's announcement of a one-month exemption on auto tariffs for Mexico and Canada. Traders keenly added new positions after China projected a 5% GDP growth for 2025 during a parliamentary session, keeping the same forecast as 2024 despite trade tensions with the US. Moreover, Beijing announced plans to issue CNY 1.3 trillion in ultra-long...
Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher Thursday, as Wall Street rose overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed tariffs on certain automakers. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.76%, while the Topix climbed 0.78%. Yields of Japanese government bond yields have surged, with the 10-year Japanese bond yield hitting its highest level since 2009, data from LSEG showed. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.61% while the small-cap Kosdaq inched up 0.38%. South Korea's consumer inflation for February rose 2% year on year, more than Reuters estimates of a 1.95% increase, and slower than the 2.2%...
The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.1% to surpass 37,800, while the broader Topix Index gained 1% to 2,745 on Thursday, marking a second consecutive session of gains. The rally followed US President Donald Trump's announcement of a one-month exemption for automakers from his 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. The White House also indicated that Trump is open to further tariff concessions, easing concerns about potential economic fallout. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida stated this week that the central bank could raise interest rates further if its forecasts...