The S&P 500 rose 0.4% on Friday (July 25), notching its fifth consecutive record close—its longest streak in more than a year—while the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.2% after hitting an intraday high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 208 points as investors digested a wave of trade developments and corporate earnings. Optimism surrounding trade talks contributed to the rally, with President Trump scheduled to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday amid hopes of a US-EU deal. Deals were also reached with Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines ahead of the...
Hong Kong stocks surged 338 points or 1.6% to a near 10-week peak of 21,904 in Wednesday morning trade, rising for a third straight session. The rally followed a rebound on Wall Street after U.S. President Trump softened his tone on Fed Chair Powell, despite recently posting, "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!" Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects the U.S. and China to begin de-escalating trade tensions "in the very near future." On the domestic front, reports suggested Chinese "national team" and retail investors stepped in to support mainland equities....
The Nikkei 225 Index rallied 2.2% to around 34,980 while the broader Topix Index jumped 2.3% to 2,590 on Wednesday, with Japanese shares hitting a three-week high and tracking a strong rebound on Wall Street. Those moves came as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled a potential easing in the US-China trade dispute, calling the current tariff standoff "unsustainable." Later in the day, President Donald Trump reinforced market optimism by confirming he has no plans to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, helping to stabilize sentiment around central bank independence and policy...
Asia-Pacific markets climbed Wednesday, after all three key benchmarks on Wall Street advanced overnight on optimism that U.S.-China trade tensions could ease. This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that final tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. "won't be anywhere near as high as 145%." However, he added that the duties "won't be 0%." Trump also said he has "no intention" to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell before his term ends, alleviating investors' concerns over the central bank's independence. Hong Kong stocks led gains in the region, with the Hang Seng...
US stocks rose on Tuesday as hopes of an easing in the US-China trade war lifted investor sentiment after a sharp sell-off the previous day. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose 2.5%, while the Dow Jones jumped 1,016 points. Optimism was fueled by comments from Treasury Secretary Bessent at a JPMorgan-hosted summit, in which he said the current tariff standoff was "unsustainable" and hinted that negotiations with China were moving toward a resolution. However, gains eased later in the day as Bessent acknowledged that formal talks had not yet begun and warned that negotiations would likely be...
European stocks reversed early losses and closed higher on Tuesday, helped by a rebound in U.S. equities as markets continued to assess how lower trade risks with the U.S. could affect Europe's corporate giants. The eurozone STOXX 50 gained 0.4% to close at 4,956 and the pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.2% to close at 508. Carmakers were among the biggest gainers on the session, with Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen all up more than 2%. Banks, meanwhile, were solidly ahead, with BNP Paribas, Intesa Sanpaolo and ING all up around 1.5%, although UniCredit slumped almost 3% after the Italian...