Stocks in Asia rose after Chinese officials reassured investors of the government’s commitment to supporting the market and boosting share prices. China’s benchmark CSI 300 Index advanced as much as 1.8%, hitting its highest level in almost three weeks before paring some of its gains. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, tracks mainland stocks listed in Hong Kong, erased an intraday gain of 1.6% as some investors viewed Beijing’s measures as a temporary stimulus. The MSCI Asia Pacific index climbed for the fourth session, set for the longest winning run in nearly a month. The gains in Chinese benchmarks came after a briefing hosted by China’s securities regulator, which said local insurers and mutual funds should add to their equity holdings. The move helped improve the mood among Chinese investors, after a tariff threat from US President Donald Trump earlier this week weighed on sentiment. The briefing was held by China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Wu Qing, Deputy Finance Minister Liao Min and central bank official Zou Lan, a sign that boosting China’s equity market is seen by Beijing as a government-wide effort rather than simply a problem for the securities regulator. Yields on 10 year Treasuries were little changed at around 4.60%. The dollar consolidated with major currencies in a tight range. Asian markets are still digesting the impact of Trump’s first few days in office, which have sent mixed signals to investors. Trump has reiterated a tariff threat against China but has largely spared the world’s second-largest economy from a feared escalation of the trade war. The S&P 500 came close to an all-time high on Wednesday, after a three-day rally that has been fueled in part by Trump’s moves to boost spending on artificial intelligence. Earlier this week, the president unveiled a joint venture with SoftBank Group Corp., OpenAI, and Oracle Corp. that could spend billions of AI infrastructure.
SoftBank’s shares rallied in the wake of the news, and continued to move higher on Thursday. They are now up around 17% since the start of the year. But other Asian tech stocks didn’t fare as well. Shares of Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. tumbled as much as 4.7% after its record quarterly profit and modest capex plans failed to impress investors. South Korea’s economy continued to sputter in the last quarter, with gross domestic product growth missing estimates. The nation plans to issue up to 20 trillion won ($13.9 billion) in special bonds from Thursday, dusting off a tool last used 21 years ago to help stabilize its currency. Hyundai Motor reported operating profit for the fourth quarter that missed the average analyst estimate. Elsewhere in Asia, Philippine’s JG Summit Holdings shares slumped as much as 8.5%, the biggest one-day fall since March 2023, on concerns that the firm may be removed from MSCI indexes. The Bank of Japan is on track to raise interest rates to the highest level since 2008 on Friday, as the central bank makes steady progress toward normalization just as the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank start to mull a pause in their easing cycles. In commodities, oil edged lower after an industry report pointed to the first gain in US crude stockpiles since mid-November, as the market watched for further pledges on global trade from President Trump. Gold held near the highest level since October. US After Hours EA -10.6%, PLXS -9.5%, CATY -7.1% lower on earnings/guidance; KNX +6%, WSBC +4%, ALK +3.1% higher on earnings; GWRE +4.4% to join S&P MidCap 400.
Nikkei +0.92% Hang Seng -0.35% CSI +0.30% Shanghai +0.67% Shenzen +0.00%
Eur$ 1.0415 CNH 7.2825 CNY 7.2794 JPY 156.49 GBP 1.2316 CHF 0.9063 RUB 99.2088 TRY 35.6623 WTI$ 75.09 -0.46% Gold 2,751.50 -0.07% BTC 102,585 -1.40% ETH 3,212 -1.4%
S&P -0.08% Nasdaq -0.18% EuroStoxx -0.19% FTSE -0.31% Dax -0.02% SMI
Macro :
- Huge New LA Fire Prompts Evacuations After Weeks of Blazes (1)
- Israel-Hezbollah Truce Set to Be Extended Beyond Next Week
- Israel-Hezbollah Truce Set to Be Extended Beyond Next Week
- US Power-Grid Operator MISO Issues Cold Weather Alerts
- Musk, Altman Spar Over $100 Billion AI Effort Hyped by Trump
- SoftBank, OpenAI Eye $19 Billion for US AI, Information Says (1)
Keep an eye on :
- AA US : Alcoa 4Q Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates -- +5%
Keep an eye on :
- AA US : Alcoa 4Q Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates -- +5%
- ALTER EGO IPO : Alter Ego Media IPO Price at €4 Per Share, Raising €57m
- AAPL US : Samsung to Beat Apple to Ultrathin Phone With Galaxy S25 Edge
- ASML NA : Trump to Push Hard on ASML Export Controls, Dutch Premier Says
- ASTS US : AST SpaceMobile Offers Convertibles at Up to 4.25% Coupon: Terms -- -9%
- ASTS US : AST SpaceMobile Offers Convertibles at Up to 4.25% Coupon: Terms -- -9%
- CBK GY : Commerzbank Calls UniCredit’s Approach ‘Hostile’
- EDP PL : EDP Renovaveis Says 2024 Electricity Generation Rises 6%
- ESSITYA SS : Essity CEO Magnus Groth to Step Down During 2025
- EUROB GA : Eurobank Offering by Fairfax Prices at €2.33/Share, Terms Show
- GALE SW : Galenica FY Sales Meets Estimates
- HER IM : Italy Utility Hera Signs Deal to Increase Stake in Aimag to 41%
- HUBN SW : Huber+Suhner FY Revenue Beats Estimates
- ITALMACH IPO : Bain Said to Mull €1.5 Billion Sale of Chemicals Firm Italmatch
- LLOY LN : Lloyds Hires CIBC’s Merali for North America Corporate Banking
- NOHAL NO : Nordic Halibut Places Offering of 14.25m Shares at NOK20/Share
- NVDA US : Nvidia Partner SK Hynix’s Profit Fails to Impress AI Chip Bulls
- PLTR US : Palantir Gets Street-High Price Target From Wedbush on AI Growth
- PUM GY : Puma Drops on Weak Net Income, Margin Target Delay: Street Wrap
- 000660 KS : Nvidia Partner SK Hynix’s Profit Fails to Impress AI Chip Bulls
- 9984 JP : SoftBank, OpenAI Eye $19 Billion for US AI, Information Says (1)
- SPOT US : Spotify CEO’s Startup Neko Raises $260m For US Expansion: FT
- SWEDA SS : Swedbank 4Q Net Income Beats Estimates (1)
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia Agrees on Extension for €700m Sparkle Bid (1)
- TSLA US : Musk, Altman Spar Over $100 Billion AI Effort Hyped by Trump (2)
- TRYG DC : Tryg 4Q Pretax Profit Misses Estimates
- UBI FP : *ELECTRONIC ARTS SEES FY NET BOOKINGS $7B-$7.15B,SAW $7.5B-$7.8B
- VLA FP : Valneva Reports Positive Chikungunya Vaccine Phase 2 Results
- VLTSA FP : Voltalia Signs Maintenance Contract With Copel in Brazil
- VOLCARB SS : Volvo Car Says No Talks Yet Over New Swedish Battery Partner: SRand
- WPP LN : WPP plans US expansion having ‘looked at’ New York listing