European stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday, with the STOXX 50 slipping 0.1% and the broader STOXX 600 finishing near the flat line, as traders refrained from making large moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision tomorrow. The US central bank is widely expected to deliver a 25 basis point rate cut, though the 2026 outlook remains uncertain. Shares in Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica declined 5.7% after Warby Parker announced plans to launch AI-powered glasses developed in collaboration with Google, heightening competition in the smartglasses market. Thyssenkrupp...
The S&P 500 closed lower Tuesday as Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day meeting, which is expected to culminate in third rate cut for the year. At 4:0 ET p.m. (21:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 178 points, or 0.4%, and the S&P 500 index was 0.1%, while the NASDAQ Composite slipped 0.1%. Fed meeting kicks off as widely expected rate cut decision loomsThe Fed got its latest two-day policy meeting underway, which investors are expecting will end with a cut to U.S. interest rates on Wednesday. The chances of an easing from Fed's current target rate of 3.75%-4% now...
Asian stock markets moved up slightly at the start of Wednesday's session, after Wall Street's sluggish overnight close, closing almost flat. Benchmark indexes in Australia and Japan rose slightly, while US stock futures barely moved. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks listed in the US actually fell around 1.4% due to the market's disappointment at the lack of stimulus signals from the Chinese Communist Party leadership meeting. In the bond market, the 10-year US Treasury yield held around 4.18% after a debt auction on Tuesday. The dollar index moved flat, and Bitcoin briefly reversed its initial...
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index weakened again for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, falling 0.5% to 25,382.56 in the morning session. Sentiment was weighed down by investor concerns as they awaited signals on the direction of the Fed's interest rate policy next year, following Wall Street's sluggish overnight performance. Selling pressure was also felt in other indices: the Hang Seng Tech Index fell slightly by 0.1%, the CSI 300 in mainland China fell 0.7%, and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%. Large stocks such as WuXi AppTec, NetEase, and Kuaishou all fell around 1.6%-1.9%. One major...
Japanese stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 index down 0.1%, or 52.30 points, to 50,602.80. This weakening occurred ahead of the Fed's important decision, while the yen had fallen sharply overnight before stabilizing around 156.64 per dollar. The market currently rates the chance of a 25-bps Fed rate cut to a range of 3.50%–3.75% at 89%, but sees only a small chance of a further cut in January due to expectations of hawkish guidance. Data-wise, Japanese producer prices rose 0.3% in November, driven by the energy and metals sectors. Export prices rose slightly,...