Asian markets were mixed early Wednesday after a report that the U.S. and China will to meet to discuss compliance with their phase-one trade deal. Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK, -0.26% slipped 0.6% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index HSI, +0.62% edged up 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.17% rose 0.2% while the Shenzhen Composite 399106, +0.80% gained 0.9%. South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +1.39% rose 1% while benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y9999, +0.72% , Singapore STI, +0.67% and Indonesia JAKIDX, +1.02% were mixed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.60% fell 0.5%. The ...

Strong U.S. manufacturing data boosted sentiment through the Asian session, even as Sino-U.S. relations took a turn for the worst. An industry gauge released overnight indicated U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in July at the fastest pace in more than a year, although hiring remained subdued. After a rally on Monday, European shares opened higher but then fell, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.6% and London’s FTSE 100 down 0.7% .FTSE. Disappointing earnings reports from the world’s largest spirits maker, Diageo Plc (DGE.L), and German drugs and pesticides group Bayer ...

A man wearing protective face mask walks in front of a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo World stocks began August cautiously as U.S. lawmakers struggled to agree a new stimulus plan following a global surge of COVID-19 cases, though a squeeze on crowded short positions left the dollar clinging to a tentative bounce. European stocks opened slightly higher on Monday following mixed moves in Asia. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.6%, helped by a rise in technology stocks, but gains were capped by poor earnings updates ...

August can be a tricky time for markets. It was the month Russia defaulted (1998), China devalued the yuan (2015) and BNP Paribas kicked off subprime meltdown by freezing three of its funds (2007). Plenty could go wrong this August as the world economy staggers under the pandemic, Sino-U.S. tensions bubble and the U.S. election contest gets ugly. Now watch Turkey, at risk of repeating the 2018 lira crisis. The lira tumbled 2% against a weakening dollar in July, and there’s little ammunition to defend it. Policy credibility is low, ...

Iran’s main stock index broke through the key 2 million point mark for the first time ever on Sunday, state media reported, amid warnings that the market is overheating. The Tehran Stock Exchange’s benchmark TEDPIX index gained 46,844 points in early trading, the official IRNA news agency said, up 2.4%. The index closed at 1,961,649 on Saturday after surging by over 57,325 points, or 3.01%, on the day, according to the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) website. Iran’s clerical rulers have been encouraging ordinary Iranians to invest in local stocks to ...

European shares fell on Thursday as dismal earnings reports and weaker-than-expected German GDP data took the shine off the U.S. Federal Reserve’s vow to keep stimulus taps open to shore up a coronavirus-ravaged economy. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.8%, dragged by losses in carmakers, insurers and banks . Britain’s Lloyds Banking Group fell 8.9% as it swung to a rare pretax loss in the first half of 2020, while Spain’s BBVA dropped 5.9% as it reported a near 50% decline in second-quarter net profit. Germany’s Volkswagen was down 5% ...

U.S. stock futures edged higher Wednesday as investors awaited cues on the Federal Reserve’s next steps to bolster the economy, a flurry of earnings at major companies, and a congressional grilling of the biggest technology companies’ leaders. Futures tied to the S&P 500 ticked up 0.2%, suggesting the broad index may open higher. The S&P 500 fell for the third time in four trading days Tuesday, after several companies reported a larger hit to earnings than investors were anticipating. The Fed isn’t expected to roll out new stimulus measures when ...

European shares edged up slightly on Wednesday after mixed earnings reports, but a resurgence of COVID-19 cases kept investors cautious while they waited to hear from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday and the negative sentiment continued through the Asian session, with Japan’s Nikkei falling on a rising yen and weak start to the earnings season. But the MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was up around 0.1% and mixed corporate earnings saw MSCI’s main European Index rise around 0.3% at 0757 ...

S&P 500 futures ticked up Monday in a muted start to the week for stocks as investors awaited fresh cues on how the global economy and major businesses are doing. Gold rallied to a fresh record, propelled higher by rising coronavirus infections around the world that added to the uncertainty about the economic outlook. The U.S. dollar dropped to its lowest level in almost two years against a basket of major currencies, with investors betting that the Federal Reserve will continue to keep the spigot turned on for cheap money ...

Developing world stocks slipped on Friday as relations between the United States and China worsened, while Russia’s rouble weakened ahead of an expected interest rate cut. In a tit-for-tat move, China ordered the United States to shut its consulate in the city of Chengdu, after Washington’s demand this week that Beijing close its Houston consulate. “The ordering of the closure of the U.S.’s Chengdu consulate, along with a ratcheting up of the anti-China rhetoric amongst U.S. policymakers, has prompted further weakness as we come to the end of a week,” ...

European stocks rose on Thursday as better-than-expected corporate earnings offset worries about rising cases of COVID-19 and a sharp escalation in tensions between the United States and China. Shares rallied to their strongest levels since February this week – in many countries erasing their entire slump in March when the coronavirus pandemic sent markets into freefall – as investors bet that massive stimulus has carried economies through the worst of it. The pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.42% while the German DAX gained 0.43% and the FTSE 100 by a ...

China stocks ended higher for the fourth straight session on Wednesday, buoyed by Beijing’s capital market reforms, though gains were checked by ongoing Sino-U.S. tensions. ** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.37% at 3,333.16, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended 0.5% higher after rising 2.1% earlier in the session. ** Both indexes recovered most of their losses from a trough hit last week due to worries over policy tightening and foreign outflows. ** China revamped its Shanghai share index on Wednesday for the first time in ...

Investors welcomed signs of progress in the European Union’s negotiations over a landmark economic recovery plan Monday, pushing down government borrowing costs and boosting the euro to a four-month high. European Union leaders were inching closer to agreement on a likely EUR1.8 trillion ($2.06 trillion) coronavirus recovery package, comprising a multiyear budget and a recovery fund. Investors are increasingly hopeful that the talks, which diplomats said could stretch on into the evening, will result in a deal. In one sign of optimism, the gap between the yields on Italian and ...

Europe’s plan to kick-start its economy while shrinking its carbon footprint is throwing up new opportunities for investors. Shares in renewable-energy companies and insulation providers have advanced this year, in contrast to the plunge in oil-and-gas companies’ stocks and a retreat in the broader market. Investors are betting these firms will benefit from the European Union’s ambitious proposal to stop damaging the environment by 2050, which the bloc aims to bake into its economic recovery plan. EU leaders are meeting Monday to haggle over the bloc’s proposed EUR1.8 trillion ($2.06 ...

China stocks jumped 2.5% on Monday, led by financial firms, after regulators moved to bolster the market by lifting equity investment cap for insurers and encouraging mergers and acquisitions among brokerages and mutual fund houses. ** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was up 2.62% at 3,298.50 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index was up 2.55%. ** The start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.47%. ** The rise followed Shanghai shares’ worst weekly drop in five months as better-than-expected GDP data in China fuelled worries over ...