Britain's FTSE 100 index on Friday briefly surpassed the symbolic 10,000 points marker for the first time, extending gains after a bumper 2025. The FTSE 100 index — home to the U.K.'s most valuable blue-chip companies — ended the first trading day of the year 0.2% higher at 9,951, kicking off the year in positive territory. The index surpassed the 10,000 threshold at around 8:30 a.m. London time, before paring gains. Analysts told CNBC late last year that while the speed of the FTSE 100′s rise to the 10,000-point level was notable, investors should remain wary. The pan-European Stoxx 600...
The S&P 500 fluctuated on Friday (January 2), the first trading day of 2026, as gains in semiconductor stocks tried to keep the index steady. The benchmark index was last up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%. Both indexes had previously shown solid positive trends earlier in the day, with the S&P 500 and the tech-dominated Nasdaq trading up 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively, at their peaks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 254 points, or 0.5%. Major chip stocks like Nvidia and Micron Technology rose during the session. Nvidia rose more than 1%, and Micron Technology jumped...
The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.32% to close at 52,518 while the broader Topix Index climbed 1.75% to 3,538 on Tuesday, building on gains in the previous session, with technology, financial and defense stocks leading the advance. Japanese shares also tracked overnight advances on Wall Street, as investors largely brushed aside geopolitical concerns following the US attack on Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Technology stocks continued to outperform at the start of the year amid sustained enthusiasm for semiconductor and artificial intelligence related names. Notable...
US stocks extended their gains on Tuesday as expectations of multiple interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve continued to support the outlook for earnings growth. The Dow rose 500 points and the S&P 500 rose 1% to new records, while the Nasdaq 100 added nearly 1%. Chip producers were sharply higher, gaining traction after having underperformed last session as investors continued to gauge risks of overvaluations in the sector. Micron, Texas Instruments, Analog Devises, and NXP rose between 6% and 8%. Healthcare also rebounded, with Eli Lilly and United adding 1% and 2%, respectively....
Asian stock markets weakened slightly on Wednesday after posting their best start to the year in history. The decline was driven by a decline in Japanese stocks amid escalating tensions with China. The Nikkei 225 index opened down 0.4%, dragging the MSCI Asia Pacific index down after four consecutive days of gains. The movement in the Asian region came after US stocks set another record. The S&P 500 index rose 0.6%, driven by optimism about the technology and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors. However, futures pointed to a weaker opening in Hong Kong, while the Japanese yen weakened...