Page 5 - Asian Shares

Asian shares mostly higher as Wall Street closes previous week near records

Asian shares were mostly higher Monday, after Wall Street finished the previous week near their record levels. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4 per cent to 26,505.18. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2 per cent to 3,878.57. Worries are simmering about China's economy, as analysts say the data for August aren't strong enough to reflect ongoing dynamic growth, especially given the damage from US President Donald Trump's tariff policies. China's retail sales rose 3.4 per cent, and factory output was up 5.2 per cent. The underlying flow is shifting. For years, Beijing leaned on exports as the carry trade that kept growth rolling even as property cracked. But with Trump's tariffs slicing through supply chains, that leg of the trade is gone, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3 per cent to 8,836.50, while South Korea's Kospi gained 0.4 per cent to 3,409.94. Stock trading was closed Monday for a national holiday in Japan. Wall ...

Asian markets rally to record highs on Fed easing cycle, AI earning hopes

Indexes in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan all scaled record peaks, urged on by extravagant expectations for AI-related earnings growth

Asia stocks gain, bonds fall as traders judge odds of bigger Fed cut

Gold caught its breath after Tuesday's record high, while the dollar ticked higher, with two crucial days of US inflation figures

Asian shares rise as Fed rate cut hopes boost sentiment across markets

Asian shares mostly rose Tuesday as hopes grew, also on Wall Street, that US data reports set for release later in the week would lead the Federal Reserve tocut interest rates at its next meeting. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up nearly 0.3% in morning trading to 43,763.96. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.5% to 8,806.60. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.6% to 3,238.07. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.2% to 25,949.48, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to 3,831.45. Asian markets opened Tuesday with momentum, riding Wall Street's conviction that Fed cuts are no longer a question of if but how many. Nearly three reductions are now being priced before year-end. That expectation is washing through global markets like a spring tide, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 added 0.2% and finished just below its record set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed ...

Asian stocks track Wall Street higher, bond yields ease before US payrolls

The US dollar eased slightly, giving up small gains from Thursday, when it was buoyed by soft labour market figures

Asian shares higher after Wall Street steadies itself as Alphabet rallies

Shares in Asia mostly traded higher Thursday after a rally of technology stocks steadied Wall Street and a slide in the dollar made Asian assets more attractive. US futures were mixed while oil prices were lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.2 per cent to 42,437.37 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6 per cent to 8,791.50. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 per cent to 3,192.22. Taiwan climbed 0.7 per cent while India's BSE Sensex added 0.6 per cent. The Chinese markets bucked the trend, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index down 1.1 per cent to 25,006.22. The Shanghai Composite index fell nearly 2 per cent to 3,738.32 on fears regulators will intervene amid excessive stock gains and liquidity. On Wednesday, Wall Street steadied after Alphabet and other technology stocks rallied. It also got some relief from easing pressure from the bond market, where the latest discouraging report on the US job market bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon to support .

Asian shares slip after US stocks sink, Japan faces political uncertainty

Asian shares declined Wednesday, echoing a fall on Wall Street, as political uncertainty took centrestage in Japan, making for cautious trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.2 per cent in morning trading to 42,222.36. The fate of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been uncertain for weeks, with calls growing both for him to resign and to remain, after a recent election defeat and the rise of fringe parties have shaken public faith in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Confidence was rocked further by a recent comment from Ishiba's ally, Hiroshi Moriyama, who said he was stepping down as party secretary general. The political tremor is domestic, with Prime Minister Ishiba's key power broker signalling his resignation, shaking the foundations of the ruling party, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. Australia's S&P/ASX200 slipped 1.1 per cent to 8,800.60. South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.3 per cent to 3,181.37. Hong

Asian shares drop on tech pullback as investors await key US jobs data

The dollar and bonds were little moved ahead of a busy week for data which includes surveys of manufacturing and services, and a range of labour numbers culminating in the August payrolls report

Asian stocks rise on tech rally as markets await US inflation data

Markets in Asia latched on to the positive momentum on Friday as MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4 per cent

Asian stocks steady, dollar weak as investors wary over Fed independence

US Treasury yield curve has been steepening since Trump ordered the firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented move that could lead to a legal tussle

Asian stocks decline tracking Wall Street losses as rate-cut optimism cools

Asian shares fell across the board Tuesday, taking their cue from a broad decline on Wall Street that reversed some of the big gains notched last week on hopes for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dove 1.1 per cent in morning trading to 42,342.28. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.3 per cent to 8,949.40. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.8 per cent to 3,184.70 after data showed improved consumer sentiment, strengthening expectations that the central bank won't move on interest rates. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2 per cent to 25,766.68, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1 per cent to 3,878.24. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.4 per cent Monday, but remains near its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.8 per cent lower after setting a record high on Friday. The Nasdaq composite closed 0.2 per cent lower. Selling was widespread, with health care stocks among the biggest drags on the market. Pfizer fell 2.9 per cent ...

Asian stocks rally as investors bet on US rate cuts, eye Nvidia earnings

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's dovish change of course has seen futures price in an 84 per cent chance of a quarter-point rate cut in September

Asian shares choppy, dollar steady as traders await Powell speech

Financial markets are looking out for Powell to provide clues about the likelihood of a September rate cut

Asian shares edge higher ahead of Fed signals, mixed finish on Wall Street

Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday after a mixed finish on Wall Street, where shares in Nvidia, Palantir and other superstar stocks pared their earlier steep losses. Traders are looking ahead for cues about US monetary policy from a meeting of central bankers that begins later in the day in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak at the conference on Friday. The Fed has kept its main interest rate steady this year, primarily because of the fear of the possibility that President Donald Trump's tariffs could push inflation higher. But a surprisingly weak report on job growth across the US may be superseding that. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 per cent to 42,636.74 after a survey showed Japan's factory activity remained in contraction for the second month in August. The S&P Global flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) increased to 49.9 in August from 48.9 in July, just below the 50 level that delineates between ...

Asian shares fall as Wall Street tech slide hits Nvidia, AI-linked stocks

Asian shares retreated on Wednesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street led by technology shares including Nvidia and other stars that have been riding the mania surrounding artificial-intelligence. Benchmarks fell in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, pulled lower by selling of computer chip makers. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.7 per cent to 42,787.28. Japan reported its exports fell slightly more than expected in July, pressured by higher tariffs on goods shipped to the US. Computer-chip equipment makers Advantest plunged 6.6 per cent and Disco Corp. dropped 4.7 per cent. Chip maker Tokyo Electron lost 1.9 per cent and Lasertec Corp. lost 1.8 per cent. The Taiex in Taiwan fell 2.4 per cent after chip maker TSMC dropped 3.8 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.6 per cent to 24,980.20 while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1 per cent lower to 3,725.22 after China's central bank opted to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged, as markets had expected. Australia

Asian stocks, oil dip ahead of US Fed meet; European futures rise

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.2 per cent in early trading, after US stocks ended the previous session with mild losses

Asian stocks rise as investors track Ukraine war after Trump-Putin summit

Asian shares were mostly higher Monday after US stocks edged back from their record levels on Friday. US futures were little changed as investors watched for developments in the Ukraine crisis following a summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that brought no breakthroughs. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.9 per cent to 43.776.38, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.3 per cent to 25,344.48. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.2 per cent to 3,740.50. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was virtually unchanged, while the Kospi in South Korea declined 1.3 per cent to 3,184.17. Trump was preparing to meet later Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Washington. The European vanguard were not included in Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday. They are seeking to present a united front in safeguarding Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. An annual meeting in .

Asian markets mostly higher as uptick in inflation pulls US stocks lower

Asian are mostly higher after most stocks on Wall Street fell following a disappointing report that said inflation was worse last month at the US wholesale level than economists had expected. US futures rose while oil prices slipped. China reported data showing its economy was feeling pressure from higher US tariffs in July, while property investments fell further. Retail sales rose 3.7% year-on-year, down from 4.8% in June, while investments in factory equipment and other fixed assets rose a meager 1.6%, compared with 2.8% growth in January-June. Uncertainty over tariffs on exports to the United States is still looming over manufacturers after President Donald Trump extended a pause in sharp hikes in import duties for 90 days following a 90-day pause that began in May. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.5% to 3,683.58, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.2% to 25,216.45. Chinese economic activity slowed across the board in July, with retail sales, fixed asset investment, an

Asian shares mixed after days of gains driven by hopes for US rate cuts

Asian shares were mixed on Thursday after days of gains driven by hopes for lower US interest rates, while US futures slipped. Bitcoin rose more than 3 per cent to a new record of over USD 1,23,000, according to CoinDesk. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.4 per cent to 42,657.94 as investors sold to lock in recent gains that have taken the benchmark to all-time records. The Japanese yen rose against the dollar after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg that Japan was behind the curve in monetary tightening. He was referring to the slow pace of increases in Japan's near-zero interest rates. Low interest rates tend to make the yen weaker against the dollar, giving Japanese exporters a cost advantage in overseas sales. The dollar fell to 146.55 Japanese yen early Thursday, down from 147.39 yen. The euro fell to USD 1.1703 from USD 1.1705. In Chinese markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed less than 0.1 per cent to 25,597.85, while the Shanghai comp

Asian stocks rise as Fed rate cut bet lifts market; Nikkei hits record high

The highly-anticipated US inflation readings indicated President Donald Trump's tariff regime had yet to filter down to consumer prices