The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.2% to above 37,300 while the broader Topix Index gained 0.9% to 2,720 on Friday, with Japanese shares hitting six-week highs, tracking a rally on Wall Street overnight as President Donald Trump unveiled a trade deal with the UK, the first since the US imposed sweeping tariffs last month. On the domestic front, investor sentiment was buoyed by data showing a stronger-than-expected rise in personal spending in March, signaling resilience in consumer demand. However, a continued decline in real wages—down for the third consecutive month—tempered optimism about the...
Hong Kong shares rose 60 points, or 0.2%, to 22,841 on Friday morning, extending gains for a seventh straight session and holding around a one-month high. Positive sentiment from Wall Street overnight supported sentiment after US President Trump suggested tariffs on Chinese goods could be eased if upcoming trade talks in Switzerland go smoothly—the first formal negotiations between the US and China. Investors also cheered a major trade deal between the US and the UK. Financial and consumer stocks led gains, while property and technology stocks lagged. However, further gains were capped by...
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Real Estate, Banking and Textile sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.51% to hit a new 1-month high. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were NTT Data Corp. (TYO:9613), which rose 14.26% or 498.00 points to trade at 3,990.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (TYO:2802) added 7.40% or 223.00 points to end at 3,238.00 and Kao Corp. (TYO:4452) was up 6.40% or 387.00 points to 6,431.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Mitsubishi Heavy...
Both the STOXX 50 and the STOXX 600 rose 0.3% on Friday, extending gains from the previous session, as traders remained cautiously optimistic about the US-UK trade deal and looked ahead to US-China trade negotiations over the weekend. Oil and gas, autos, and healthcare were the best-performing sectors, while insurance lagged behind. Meanwhile, investors also monitored corporate earnings. Shares of Commerzbank edged up just 0.3%, despite the lender reporting a better-than-expected net profit in Q1. Mediobanca shares gained 1.5% following an earnings beat. For the week, both benchmark...
Stocks in the US were higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.4%, the Nasdaq adding 0.6% and the Dow Jones gaining about 110 points, as traders weighed signs of a potential de-escalation in global trade tensions. President Trump said an 80% tariff on China "seems right" ahead of trade talks led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese counterparts in Switzerland this weekend. Earlier reports had suggested the tariff rate could be reduced to below 60%. Energy and consumer discretionary were the top performing sectors while consumer staples underperformed. Corporate earnings...