Asian Shares Mixed Ahead Of Trump-Xi Call

RTTNews | 364 days ago

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday despite Wall Street's main indexes reaching new record highs overnight following the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate cut in nine months.

China's Shanghai Composite index ended down 0.30 percent at 3,820.09 after a choppy session ahead of a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for later in the day to finalize terms of a deal over TikTok's U.S. operations.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng swung between gains and losses ended little changed at 26,545.10.

Japanese markets ended lower as the Bank of Japan's hawkish tilt lifted the yen. The Nikkei average dropped 0.57 percent to 45,045.81 while the broader Topix index closed down 0.35 percent at 3,147.68.

Japan's two-year government bond yield rose to the highest since 2008 after the Bank of Japan held rates as expected but announced the start of its oversized ETF and REIT holdings, marking a significant and symbolic step away from the ultra-loose policies of the Abenomics era.

Seoul stocks fell on profit taking after recent rallies. The Kospi average dropped 0.46 percent to 3,445.24, with tech stocks leading losses.

Hyundai Motor fell over 2 percent after slashing its 2025 operating profit margin target to 6-7 percent from a previously announced 7-8 percent, citing the impact of U.S. tariffs.

Australian markets eked out modest gains, with banks and healthcare stocks surging on expectations of a rate cut in November.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.32 percent to 8,773.50 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.34 percent higher at 9,061.20.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index climbed 0.85 percent to 13,231.66 after a two-day slide.

Gold edged up in Asian trade and the U.S. dollar held steady as investors awaited new catalysts following the Federal Reserve's meeting. Oil declined but was set for a second weekly gain.

Overnight, U.S. stocks notched fresh record highs as Nvidia agreed to invest $5 billion in Intel Corp and data showed fewer Americans filed new applications for unemployment benefits last week.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9 percent, the S&P 500 added half a percent and the Dow rose 0.3 percent, a day after the Fed delivered its first interest-rate cut since December 2024 and signalled two more rate cuts in 2025.

Swiss Market Ends On Weak Note

The Switzerland stock market closed notably lower on Friday, in line with markets across Europe as worries about inflation and uncertainty about central banks' monetary policy moves rendered the mood cautious.

RTTNews | 35 minutes ago

European Stocks Fall As Central Bank Signals Weigh On Sentiment

European stocks declined Friday amid caution over monetary policy and inflation outlooks from major central banks. The ECB survey showed Euro Zone inflation expectations rose to 3% from 2.9%, while the Bank of Japan raised rates by 25 basis points.

RTTNews | 1h 7min ago

U.S. Leading Economic Index Unexpectedly Edges Lower In August

A report released the Conference Board on Friday unexpectedly showed a modest decrease by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of August. The Conference Board said its leading economic index edged down by 0.1 percent in August after rising by 0.2 percent in July. Economists had expected the index to inch up by 0.1 percent.

RTTNews | 4h 43min ago

U.S. Industrial Production Unexpectedly Flat In August

With a jump in utilities output offset by a decrease in manufacturing output, the Federal Reserve released a report on Friday showing U.S. industrial production unexpectedly came in flat in the month of August. The Fed said industrial production was unchanged in August after rising by an unrevised 0.2 percent in July. Economists had expected industrial production to climb by 0.3 percent.

RTTNews | 4h 51min ago

UK Retail Sales Recover Unexpectedly

UK retail sales rebounded unexpectedly in August underpinned by online shopping and warm weather boosted sales of seasonal items, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed Friday. Retail sales grew 0.5 percent on a monthly basis, offsetting July's 0.5 percent fall. Sales were expected to drop 0.2 percent.

RTTNews | 5h 33min ago

Bay Street Likely To Open On Mixed Note

Canadian stocks are likely to open on mixed note on Friday, with investors tracking commodity prices and assessing recent monetary policy moves and weighing inflation outlook. Activity for most part of the session could be a bit lackluster amid a lack of fresh data or corporate news.

RTTNews | 6h 9min ago

FTSE 100 Drifts Lower Despite Strong Retail Sales Data

Despite data showing an unexpected jump in retail sales, U.K. stocks weakened on Friday with investors assessing recent policy announcements and inflation outlook from major central banks.

RTTNews | 7h 50min ago

French Stocks Shed Ground On Inflation Concerns

French stocks shed ground on Friday, retreating after two successive days of gains, as concerns about inflation and fears of policy tightening by some major central banks rendered the mood cautious. A survey by the European Central Bank showed Euro Zone consumers nudged up their inflation expectations last month.

RTTNews | 8h 16min ago

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