Equities fell across Asia as concerns over a realignment of US geopolitical priorities weighed on risk sentiment. The yen strengthened. A gauge of Asian shares dropped 0.6%, while an index of Chinese technology shares in Hong Kong slumped as much as 3.6% after rallying to a three-year high. Treasuries edged higher in Asian trading and gold held near a record high. US President Donald Trump is increasing pressure on Ukraine to reach a peace deal with Russia, raising concerns among European allies that he will walk back years of support for the Eastern European nation. He also added to uncertainty over his tariff plans by talking about a potential 25% levy on lumber. US equity index futures declined. The yen hit its strongest level against the dollar since December on growing speculation the Bank of Japan will hike rates sooner rather than later. The nation will report inflation data on Friday. The war in Ukraine continued to dominate markets in Europe as officials in the region fume after being excluded from US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia. In an escalation of pressure, Trump called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a “dictator” on Wednesday, and urged him to move quickly for a deal. Bond traders are now waiting on details of potential new defense funding measures in Europe as the region debates the need to step up in light of Trump’s pivot. Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the European Union is strong enough to counter any US tariff threats but that he hopes for a negotiated agreement that can avoid a trade war. Trump also said it would be possible to reach a fresh trade deal with China, signaling he is open to heading off a brewing trade fight between Washington and Beijing. The dollar fell against all of its Group-of-10 peers while the yuan advanced.
In Hong Kong, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shares declined as much as 4.6% as investors turn their focus to the company’s earnings presentation Thursday after a DeepSeek-sparked rally added more than $110 billion to its market value. Meituan Inc. shares dropped as much as 6.9% after the e-commerce company disclosed plans to expand social security protection to more workers. Chinese technology shares have staged a bull run this year, driven by optimism over DeepSeek and President Xi Jinping’s meeting with major business leaders including Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma. That rally took a pause Thursday as some investors perceived the gains as overdone, though the fresh comments from Trump about a China trade deal helped ease jitters. Meanwhile, Fed minutes Wednesday showed policymakers in January expressed a readiness to hold interest rates steady amid stubborn inflation and economic-policy uncertainty. Officials also revealed pausing or slowing the balance-sheet runoff — a process known as quantitative tightening, or QT, until the government’s debt-ceiling drama is resolved. In commodities, oil edged lower as an industry report flagged another build in US crude stockpiles, as uncertainty over global supplies lingered. Brent crude slipped below $76 a barrel after a three-day streak of advances. Separately, Lenovo Group Ltd.’s quarterly profit beat projections, highlighting how AI infrastructure spending is helping pull the global PC market out of a years-long funk. Net income more than doubled to $692.7 million in the December quarter, compared with an average estimate of $365 million. US After Hours CWAN +15.6%, HLF +15.6%, NRDS +7.3% higher on earnings; VMEO -12.8%, ENVX -11.7%, CVNA -10.1%; TRUP -8.4%, ROG -6.6%, IMAX -5.6% lower on earnings
Nikkei -1.24% Hang Seng -1.29% CSI -0.27% Shanghai -0.04% Shenzen +0.56%
Eur$ 1.0433 CNH 7.2668 CNY 7.2661 JPY 150.08 GBP 1.2597 CHF 0.9023 RUB 89.5715 TRY 36.3242 WTI$ 71.95 -0.42% Gold 2,944 +0.38% BTC 96,920 +0.63% ETH 2,728 +0.59%
S&P -0.32% Nasdaq -0.43%% EuroStoxx +0.16% FTSE +0.17% Dax +0.16% SMI +0.09%
Macro :
- Codeium Seeks New Funding at $2.85B Valuation: TechCrunch
- Lutnick Shapes New Wall Street Dynasty With DJ and Trader Sons
Keep an eye on :
- AC FP : Accor FY Ebitda Matches Estimates
- ADP FP : ADP FY Ebitda Meets Estimates
- AGN NA : Aegon 2H Operating Profit Misses Estimates (2)
- AIR FP : Airbus Sets Modest 2025 Jet Delivery Goal Amid Supply Snags (1)
- AUTO NO : Autostore 4Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- AZE BB : Azelis FY Revenue Meets Estimates
- BESI NA : BE Semiconductor 4Q Orders Misses Estimates
- BIOAB SS : Bioarctic, Bristol Myers Squibb License Deal Cleared by US FTC
- BMRN US : *BIOMARIN RISES 5% POSTMARKET AS 2025 PROFIT FORECAST BEATS
- CPR IM : *CAMPARI PLANS REDUCING 10% OF GLOBAL WORKFORCE: MF
- CVNA US : Carvana Shares Drop on Weaker Wholesale Profits and Volumes
- CA FP : Carrefour FY Recurring Operating Income Misses Estimates (1)
- CA FP : Carrefour ADRs Slide After ‘Poor’ Outlook for 2025: Street Wrap
- CMBN SW : Cembra Money Bank FY Revenue Beats Estimates
- COV FP : Covivio Sees 2025 Adj. EPRA Profit About EU495M, Est. EU482.1M
- CVC NA : CVC Holder Stratosphere Finance Offers €130m Shares: Terms
- DEC LN : Diversified Energy Prices 8.5m Shares at $14.50 Each
- ENEL IM : Enel Signs EUR12b Committed Revolving Credit Facility
- ERA FP : Eramet FY Net Income Misses Estimates
- FAGR BB : Fagron FY Revenue Meets Estimates
- FLS DC : FLSmidth Sees 2025 Revenue About DKK19B, Est. DKK19.36B
- FORN SW : Forbo CEO Jens Fankhänel Temporarily Withdraws Due to Illness
- FFARM NA : ForFarmers FY Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates
- GBLB BB : GBL Is Said to Weigh Buyout of Specialty Materials Firm Imerys
- GSF NO : Grieg Seafood 4Q Operational Ebit Loss NOK74M
- HABA GY : Hamborner REIT Sees 2025 FFO EU44m to EU46m
- HYQ GY : Hypoport Prelim FY Ebit About EU17M, Est. EU16.4M
- NK FP : GBL Is Said to Weigh Buyout of Specialty Materials Firm Imerys
- INH GY : Indus Holding FY Ebit Beats Estimates
- IPG US : Interpublic, X Corp. Recently Agreed to New Annual Spending Deal, Sources Say -- WSJ
- ISS DC : ISS Sees 2025 Organic Revenue +4% to +6%, Est. +4.39%
- KIN BB : Kinepolis FY Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates
- KBX GY : Knorr-Bremse 4Q Ebit Beats Estimates
- KTN GY : Kontron Gets Automotive Contract Worth Around $250M
- KRN GY : Krones Sees 2025 Ebitda Margin 10.2% to 10.8%, Est. 10.6%
- 992 HK : Lenovo’s Profit Beats Estimates as AI Fuels PC Recovery Hopes
- ALMCP FP : McPhy Explores Strategic Options Amid Dwindling Cash Position
- MBG GY : Mercedes Sees 2025 Cars Adj. ROS 6% to 8%, Est. 7.91% (1)
- MBTN SW : Meyer Burger Extends Bridge Facility; Seeks to Defer Payments, Meyer Burger Signs First Supply Pact for Italy With IBC Solar
- MSTR US : Saylor’s Strategy Sweetens Terms of $2 Billion Convertible Bond
- NFLSK DC : Nilfisk 4Q Revenue Misses Estimates
- NN NA : NN Group FY Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- NWO GY : Burda Digital Submits Demand for Squeeze-Out of New Work
- OPM FP : Opmobility FY Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- PLTR US : Palantir Shares Sink as Much as 11%, Most Intraday Since August
- REP SM : Repsol 4Q Adjusted Income Beats Estimates
- RNO FP : Renault-Backed Hyvia in Liquidation as Hydrogen Stalls in Europe
- RNO FP : Renault FY Operating Margin Misses Estimates
- RIO LN : Rio Tinto Follows Big Mining Peers in Posting Profit Slide (1)
- RIO LN : Rio Tinto Rejects Call by Activist Investor to End Dual Listing
- SBMO NA : SBM Offshore Sees 2025 Adjusted Ebitda About $1.55B, Est. $1.34B
- SNDK US : SanDisk to Join S&P Smallcap 600
- SU FP : Schneider Electric Profit, Revenue Beat Market Views
- SHL GY : Siemens Offers 2% Stake in Medical Unit Siemens Healthineers
- SNT PW : Synektik Shareholder Agrees to Sell 10% Stake at PLN225/Share
- TEP FP : Teleperformance Invests $13m in Sanas to Boost AI Development
- TEN IM : Tenaris 4Q Net Sales Beat Estimates
- TGS NO : TGS 4Q Pretax Profit Misses Estimates
- TKO FP : Tikehau Capital Assets Under Management EU49.6B Vs. EU43.16B Y/y
- UBSG SW : UBS’ Khan Tackles High-Stakes Asia Assignment in Race to CEO
- VRLA FP : Verallia FY Organic Revenue Misses Estimates
- VGP BB : VGP FY Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- VPLAYB SS : Viaplay 4Q Sales SEK4.84B
- VMEO US : *VIMEO SHARES FALL 17% POSTMARKET AFTER RESULTS
- VRM US : Vroom Gets Approval for Nasdaq Relisting
- WG/ LN : Wood Group CFO Arvind Balan Resigns
- ZEAL DC : Zealand Pharma Sees 2025 Net OPEX DKK2.00B to DKK2.50B
- ZURN SW : Zurich Ins. FY Dividend per Share Beats Estimates, Zurich Insurance Appoints Former SNB Chief Jordan to Its Board