Japanese stocks are lower in early trade as caution over earnings and domestic politics continue. Chip and bank stocks are leading the declines. Lasertec is down 5.6% and Resona Holdings is 1.6% lower. Meanwhile, a weaker yen is offering some support for the market. USD/JPY is at 150.85, compared with 148.75 as of Thursday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching quarterly corporate results as well as any domestic political developments. Mitsubishi Chemical Group and Hoya Corp. are due to announce their earnings later in the day. The Nikkei Stock Average is down 0.5% at...
(Hong Kong) The Hang Seng Index started the month of August by opening 28 points lower, marking a decrease of 0.12% at 24,744 points. The H-share index dropped by 12 points or 0.14%, reaching 8,870 points, while the technology index saw a decline of 5 points or 0.09%, standing at 5,447 points. In the tech sector, stock movements varied with Alibaba rising by 1.82%, Kuaishou up by 1.3%, and Tencent seeing a 0.27% increase. Conversely, Meituan fell by 0.41%, Xiaomi Group by 0.66%, and Trip.com Group by 1.42%. Financial stocks exhibited weakness, with HSBC Holdings dropping by 0.68%; AIA...
The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.66% to close at 40,800 on Friday, bringing its weekly loss to 1.58%, as tech stocks came under heavy pressure. Tokyo Electron sank 18% after slashing its full-year profit outlook due to weak demand from logic chipmakers. Losses spread across the sector, with Lasertec (-5.8%), Hitachi (-8.8%), Socionext (-4.1%), Disco (-3.6%), and Advantest (-1.3%) all declining. Sentiment was further dented by renewed trade tensions after US President Donald Trump reaffirmed a 10% global tariff and imposed reciprocal duties of up to 41% on countries without trade deals, heightening...
The STOXX 50 dropped 1.1% and the STOXX 600 declined 0.8% on the first trading day of August, which coincided with the deadline for countries to reach a trade deal with the US. In response, President Trump announced a series of sweeping tariffs. While the baseline rate remained unchanged at 10%—matching duties imposed in April—tariffs on certain countries were significantly increased, including India (25%), Canada (35%), and Switzerland (39%). Overall, the average US tariff rate will rise to 15%, up from around 2% in 2024. Pharmaceutical stocks also came under pressure after President Trump...
The Hang Seng Index plunged 265 points, or 1.1%, to close at 24,508 on Friday (August 1), weakening for a fourth session and hitting a two-week low. Risk sentiment weakened after the US imposed high tariffs on dozens of trading partners, while US futures prices fell sharply after higher June inflation data. The new tariffs are expected to add to price pressures, fueling concerns about further inflation. Traders are also cautious ahead of US employment data due later today. For the week, the index fell 3.5%, its first weekly decline in four weeks, amid concerns about slowing Chinese...