Asia-Pacific markets climbed Wednesday as investors continue to track trade discussions between the U.S. and China, which U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick described as being "productive." The talks between officials from both superpowers had continued for a second day in London on Tuesday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was departing the ongoing trade talks, but Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would remain to continue the negotiations. Discussions could extend into Wednesday if needed, Lutnick said previously. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 started...
The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.5% to around 38,400 while the broader Topix Index gained 0.2% to 2,791 on Wednesday, with Japanese shares rising for the fourth straight session as signs of progress in US-China trade talks supported market sentiment. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that two sides have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between their respective presidents. On the domestic front, Japan's producer prices rose 3.2% year-on-year in May, the slowest pace in eight months, easing some inflation concerns. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Governor...
The Hang Seng Index initiated the day by rising 28 points to 24,191 points, currently showing a 60-point increase or 0.25%, reaching 24,223 points. Concurrently, the H-share index climbed by 29 points or 0.33%, reaching 8,796 points, and the technology index saw a gain of 26 points or 0.48%, reaching 5,418 points. In the tech sector, stocks demonstrated overall stability, with Tencent rising by 0.4%, Alibaba by 1.1%, Meituan by 0.4%, Xiaomi Group by 0.6%, and Kuaishou witnessing a slight decline of 0.1%. Across the financial domain, individual movements were observed, notably with HSBC...
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Real Estate, Banking and Textile sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.49%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436), which rose 10.51% or 104.00 points to trade at 1,094.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. (TYO:3099) added 5.74% or 128.00 points to end at 2,358.00 and Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TYO:8035) was up 4.80% or 1,140.00 points to 24,880.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Hino Motors, Ltd....
European shares were subdued on Wednesday ahead of a crucial inflation report out of the U.S., while investors assessed the impact of a potential U.S.-China agreement on the trade war. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1% at 553.85 points at 0705 GMT. Late on Tuesday, U.S. and Chinese officials said they had agreed on a framework to put their trade truce back on track and remove China's export restrictions on rare earths, and remove some from the U.S. The agreement will be taken back to the leaders of the two countries for approval. In Europe, carmakers that would benefit from the...