European stocks ended mixed on the last trading day of the year. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed a shortened trading session 0.1% lower on Wednesday, with most sector indexes in negative territory. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended the day down 0.2%, bringing the index to an annual gain of 21.5% – its strongest yearly gain since 2009. Meanwhile, France's CAC 40 ended New Year's Eve down 0.2%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.6%. Italy's FTSE MIB gained 1.1%, bringing annual gains to 31.5% and its best year since 1998. Markets were open for a half-day of trading on Wednesday, and will be closed...
The Hang Seng Index plunged 615 points, or 2.4%, to close at 25,220 on Friday (November 21), extending last week's decline and marking its lowest level in five weeks. The decline occurred broadly amid sharp fluctuations in global equities. The technology sector slumped 3.2% to a three-month low, mirroring the weak performance of US tech stocks on Thursday. Consumer, property, and financial stocks also fell sharply, following a decline in mainland Chinese markets, which hit their lowest level since mid-October. On a weekly basis, Hong Kong markets slumped 5.1%, reversing gains from the...
The Japanese stock market closed lower on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 index falling 2.30%. The paper & pulp, transportation, and communications sectors were the main drags on the index. Despite the steep decline, the market mood wasn't entirely negative, as several large stocks still rallied. Among the top gainers, M3 Inc rose 6.9%, Obayashi Corp surged nearly 5% to hit an all-time high of 3,125, and Nitori Holdings rallied around 4.1%. Overall, the number of stocks rising was far greater: 2,522 rose, 1,117 fell, and 190 remained unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. This means that...
The Hong Kong stock market opened lower in the morning session, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index falling 375 points, or 1.45%, to 25,460. Selling pressure was felt across the entire market. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.43% to 9,012, while the Technology Index fell further, down 2.2% to 5,451. Technology stocks were the main market bearish. Tencent fell around 1.7%, Alibaba fell more sharply, by around 3.1%, and Meituan fell 1.5%. Xiaomi and JD.com both fell 2.3%, while Kuaishou Technology also fell by around 1.6%. The weakness in this sector indicates that investors remain...
Japan's Nikkei index fell 2.2% to 48,720.59 in morning trading, following a sharp decline on Wall Street overnight. Negative sentiment was still fueled by renewed concerns about a potential "bubble" in AI-based stocks, prompting investors to reduce exposure to riskier assets. The technology and banking sectors were the main drags on the index. Panasonic shares fell around 1.2%, while Mizuho Financial fell 0.8% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial slipped 1.5%. Several consumer stocks also suffered, with Fast Retailing down 0.4%. In the foreign exchange market, currency movements were relatively...
US stocks erased gains to close at one-month lows on Thursday amid the outlook of higher interest rates by the Federal Reserve, as markets reassessed risks that high valuations for AI companies are unwarranted. The Nasdaq 100 lost 2.4% while the S&P 500 fell 1.5% and the Dow was 350 points lower. Delayed employment data from the BLS, set to be the last before the FOMC's December meeting, reflected stronger than expected job growth to consolidate expectations that the Fed will hold rates unchanged next month. In the meantime, Nvidia dropped 3.2% after trading as high as 5% at the...