Skip to main content

Featured

Trade Tensions Rattle Wall Street’s Momentum

After an impressive streak of gains that pushed major U.S. indices to record highs, the stock market faced a sharp reversal as renewed trade tensions triggered investor anxiety. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all pulled back in Friday’s session, with financials and industrials leading the retreat. Concerns were reignited after new tariffs targeting tech and manufacturing imports between the U.S. and China surfaced, prompting fears of escalating economic friction. These measures, aimed at protecting domestic industries, were met with criticism from global partners and stoked uncertainty about the broader trade landscape. Analysts note that while earnings remain strong and economic indicators are still resilient, the shadow of protectionism looms large. Investor sentiment, which had been buoyed by dovish monetary policy and solid corporate results, now finds itself caught in geopolitical crosswinds. Many traders are now recalibrating their expectations heading ...
Post a Comment
Read more

article

Labels

Asian shares rise after Wall Street gains; Tokyo slips

Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday, following modest gains on Wall Street in a holiday-shortened week. Tokyo was an exception, as investors weighed the prospects of a policy shift by the Bank of Japan.

The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4% to 33,539.62, while other major regional benchmarks rose more than 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 2.7%, led by technology and property shares. The Shanghai Composite index gained 1.4% and South Korea’s Kospi added 1.6%.

U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices were mixed. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 4,781.58 on Wednesday, up 24% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, to close at 37,656.52. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to 15,099.18, outpacing other major indexes with a gain of 44% this year.

Trading was subdued with two trading days left in the year. The S&P 500 is coming of its eight straight winning week and is hovering just below its all-time high set in January of 2022.

Investors are looking ahead to the next year, when the Federal Reserve is expected to start raising interest rates to combat inflation. The Fed has signaled that it will hike rates three times in 2024, but some analysts think it may need to move faster and more aggressively.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is facing pressure to ease its ultra-loose monetary policy and raise its key interest rate from minus 0.1%. The BOJ has been keeping credit cheap to support the economy, but some economists argue that negative rates are hurting banks and consumers. The BOJ is waiting to see what kind of wage gains might come in 2024 as part of its strategy.

In other news, online food delivery company Meituan rose 6.8% in Hong Kong, despite a lawsuit filed against it by a U.S. company for allegedly selling counterfeit versions of Squishmallow plush toys. Ecommerce giant Alibaba gained 2.9%, even as a court in New York refused to dismiss the case. Shares in struggling developer Country Garden Holdings jumped 6.9%, as property stocks rebounded from recent losses.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment