Japanese stocks are higher as the yen weakens sharply following the Bank of Japan's decision to keep its policy rate unchanged on Thursday. Tech and electronics stocks are leading gains. SoftBank Group is up 2.6% and Sony Group is 3.0% higher. USD/JPY is at 153.89, up sharply from 153.04 as of Thursday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching any progress in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's policy steps to boost the economy. The Nikkei Stock Average is up 1.0% at 51826.46. Source: Bloomberg
Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 rising more than 1% to a new record, as investors reacted positively to the truce between Washington and Beijing following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two leaders reached a trade deal in their high-stakes meeting in South Korea on Thursday, easing tensions over rare earth elements that had threatened to escalate into a full-blown trade war. "Both sides appear to be preserving leverage for future negotiations by using these measures as bargaining chips," said...
The Hang Seng Index opened slightly lower by 0.07% to 26,263 on Friday (October 31st), moving flat after a 0.2% decline in the previous session to 26,283. This cautious movement occurred amid mixed sentiment: some technology stocks weakened, while the market digested news of a US-China trade truce that had not yet fully boosted risk appetite. Data-wise, China's manufacturing PMI contracted again in October, signaling continued pressure on the factory sector and curbing the Hong Kong stock market rally. Meanwhile, Asian market analysts noted that regional stocks are likely to strengthen this...
The Nikkei 225 index closed higher on Thursday (October 31, 2025), driven by strong gains in technology and electronics stocks. Positive sentiment emerged after the Bank of Japan maintained its policy interest rate, while a weaker yen boosted the profit prospects of export-based issuers. Large-cap stocks, including chip, electronics, and internet stocks, led the gains. Investors also assessed the easing of US-China trade tensions following the Trump-Xi meeting, which boosted risk appetite despite not providing long-term certainty. Overall, the Nikkei closed up around 1% and held at 52.4....
European stocks edged lower on Friday (October 31st), with the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 down 0.1%, as corporate earnings remained in focus and investors continued to assess the impact of the recent US-China trade truce. Among the stocks moving, Electrolux was one of the worst performers, falling more than 2.8% after a strong rally in the previous session. Saint-Gobain extended its losses, falling more than 2%, while ASML Holding (-0.8%) and Shell (-1.3%) also traded lower. Conversely, Anheuser-Busch (2%) was among the gainers. (alg) Source: Trading Economics