The record-breaking global stock rally stalled in Asia as signs of overheating and rising tensions between Japan and China hurt sentiment. The MSCI All Country World Index — a broad measure of the equity market — fell 0.1% on Wednesday after four days of gains had boosted it to an all-time high. MSCI’s gauge of Asian stocks slipped 0.6% after a rally that pushed it to the best-ever start to a year. Japanese shares dropped 1% as China imposed controls on exports to the country. In commodities, gold slid 0.6% and silver dropped 1.7%. Nickel also gave up some gains after its biggest rally in more than three years in London on Tuesday. Oil declined as President Donald Trump said Venezuela would turn over as many as 50 million barrels of crude to the US. Escalating tensions between China and Japan are in focus in Asia, even as optimism over artificial intelligence and expectations of Federal Reserve easing have propelled global equities to new highs. Economic data due from the US this week will test whether that optimism holds as investors mostly shrug off geopolitical risks, including those linked to Venezuela. Asian shares have already risen 3.6% this year, extending three straight years of gains.
Still, the 14-day relative strength index, a momentum indicator, on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed above 70 this week, entering technical overbought territory for the first time since October. In the oil market, Trump said Venezuela would relinquish as much as 50 million barrels of oil to the US, worth roughly $2.8 billion at the current market price, announcing the cargoes would be sold with proceeds benefiting both countries. The announcement marked a significant step up for the US government as it seeks to extend its economic influence in Venezuela. It’s also a blow to China, previously the top buyer of the country’s oil and a close partner. Meanwhile, Beijing imposed controls on exports to Japan with potential military uses, the latest flare-up in diplomatic tension between the two Asian nations in a dispute related to Taiwan. Naomi Fink of Amova Asset Management says she anticipates a bumpier road than markets are pricing in. Fink speaks on Bloomberg Television.
China is making an announcement to both domestic and international audiences that it holds the card on rare earths, said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management. Based on the information available at this stage, China’s move may only be a “temporary catalyst for profit-taking,” said Kohei Onishi, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley. Investors were also watching the primary bond market. The first week of 2026 has seen a surge in global primary bond issuance, signaling strong investor confidence despite heightened geopolitical risks. Global issuance in the US investment-grade bond market, including from Asian companies, topped $72 billion combined in the first two days of the week, a record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Ten companies from Asia Pacific priced notes Tuesday, though the rapid-fire pace of deals slowed mid-week. Trader focus this week will also turn to economic data, including business activity and jobs market reports due later in the week. A weake. US after Hours VTYX +60.3% surges on WSJ report that LLY in advanced talks to acquire co; PENG +4.5%, AIR +2.8% higher on earnings; MBLY +10.9% to acquire Mentee Robotics.
Nikkei -1.06% Hang Seng -1.26% CSI -0.41% Shanghai -0.05% Shenzen +0.00%
Eur$ 1.1696 CNH 6.9839 CNY 69864 JPY 156.55 GBP 1.3508 CHF 0.7949 RUB 80.7105 TRY 43.0456 WTI$ 56.33 -1.49% Gold 4,469 -0.67% BTC 92,691 -0.64% ETH 3,261 -0.58% SOL 139.19 -0.97%
S&P -0.07% Nasdaq -0.19% EuroStoxx +0.13% FTSE -0.24% Dax +0.31% SMI +0.04%
Macro :
- Rush to Invest in Venezuela Is ‘Nuts,’ $15 Billion Advisor Says
- Venezuela’s Dwindling Oil Storage Imperils Output, Kpler Says
- US Dietary Guidelines Expected to Urge Pullback in Added Sugars
- Trump Says Venezuela to Send Oil Worth Up to $2.8 Billion to US
- MSCI Keeps Digital Asset Treasury Firms in Global Indexes
- Rush to Invest in Venezuela Is ‘Nuts,’ $15 Billion Adviser Says
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
- AENA SM : Aena to Propose Tariffs Hikes of Less Than 6%: Expansion
- ALC SW : Alcon Terminates Pact to Buy STAAR Surgical
- AAPL US : Apple Designer Behind iPhone Air Is Joining the AI Startup Hark
- ARWR US : Arrowhead Pharma Offers $200m Shares, $500m Convertible Notes
- AMRZ US : Amrize to Buy PB Materials
- BIDU US : *BAIDU'S AI CHIP ARM AIMS TO RAISE UP TO $2B IN HK IPO: SOURCES
- BRK/A US : Berkshire Hathaway Boosts CEO Greg Abel’s Salary to $25 Million
- BIOA US : BioAge Labs, Neumora Gain on Potential Ventyx Bio, Lilly Deal
- BMY US : Bristol-Myers Prelim 4Q Acquired IPR&D & Licensing Income $1.17b
- ALCAR FP : Carmat Announces Liquidation, Says Shares Won’t Resume Trading
- CVX US : Chevron and Quantum Energy Partners line up bid for $22bn of Lukoil assets
- COV FP : Covivio, Blue Owl Funds Create Joint Venture
- DTG GY : Daimler Truck, Paccar Shares Gain on North American Data
- DGE LN : Diageo Kenya Distributor Asks Court to Block $2.3b Asahi Deal
- Discord IPO : Chat Platform Discord Is Said to File Confidentially for IPO
- LLY US : Eli Lilly, AI Drug-Discovery Company Nimbus Partner on Oral Obesity Treatment - WSJ
- EMBJ US : Embraer SA reports 91 aircraft delivered in the fourth quarter
- GOOGL US : Google’s $32 Billion Bid to Buy Wiz Gets EU Merger Probe
- GLJ GY : Grenke 4Q Factoring New Business Volume EU189.1M
- GTT FP : GTT Gets Order From Hanwha Ocean for LNG Carrier Tank Design
- 13 HK : HUTCHMED Sovleplenib Met Endpoint in Hemolytic Anemia Trial
- KBC BB : KBC Securities, Van Lanschot Kempen Form Equities Joint Venture
- KBC BB : KBC Securities, Van Lanschot Kempen Form Equities Joint Venture
- LGEN LN : L&G Rejects Saba Plan to Oust Board of Baillie Gifford Fund
- 992 HK : Lenovo Debuts Qira AI Platform and Concept Devices at CES
- LSG NO : Leroy Prelim 4Q Norway Farming Harvested Volume Meets Estimates
- META US : Meta hires Microsoft's C.J. Mahoney as chief legal officer
- META US : China reviews Meta’s $2bn purchase of AI start-up Manus
- MTRS SS : Data-Center Cooling Sales at Risk on Huang Comments: Street Wrap
- MBLY US : Mobileye to Buy Humanoid Robot Maker Mentee for $900 Million
- NEM US : Newmont Sees Impact of ~60Koz in 1Q Gold Output by WA Bushfires
- NDX1 GY : Nordex Gets Orders for 414 MW in France, Belgium, Portugal
- Open AI : OpenAI Challengers Test Appetite for Chinese AI With Twin Debuts
- ORSTED DC : Orsted’s NY Wind Project Challenges US Suspension of Lease
- PRAX US : Praxis Precision Prices Offering of 2.21m Shares at $260 Each
- RDC GY : Redcare Pharmacy NV Prelim FY Revenue Misses Estimates
- SALM NO : Salmar Prelim 4Q Harvest Beats Estimates
- SGL GY : *SGL CARBON GAINS 5.6% ON TRADEGATE VS XETRA CLOSE
- SIE GY : Siemens and NVIDIA Partner to Build Industrial AI System
- SIE GY : PepsiCo Taps Siemens, Nvidia for AI Digital Twin Collaboration
- MSTR US : MSCI Backs Off on Crypto-Exclusion Plan But Signals Wider Review
- TE FP : Technip Energies Wins Two Refinery Contracts From BPCL
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia, Fastweb + Vodafone Agree Network Sharing Deal
- TKA GY : Thyssenkrupp Mulls Phased Sale of TKSE to Jindal Steel: Reuters
- UMG NA : Universal Partners With Nvidia on AI Music Creation, Discovery
- VLK NA : KBC Securities, Van Lanschot Kempen Form Equities Joint Venture
- VLK NA : KBC Securities, Van Lanschot Kempen Form Equities Joint Venture
- VTYX US : Lilly Nearing $1 Billion Deal With Biotech Ventyx, WSJ Says
- VOD LN : Telecom Italia, Fastweb + Vodafone Agree Network Sharing Deal
- VOW GY : VW, Audi’s American Sales Plummet as Trump Policies Take Toll
- WAWI ON : Wilhelmsen Enters $130m Contract With Asian Vehicle Maker
- xAI : Elon Musk’s xAI raises $20bn in funding round that doubles valuation - FT