Category: FINANCE

Among the New Tech Giants, Apple Inc., the one consumer tech giant by market cap, was underperforming the pack. AAPL stock drops ~2% in early trading today. The company reported more shares sold than added, or a sequential decline in profit and earnings. The question is if this indicates investors still see risk in AAPL and their own concerns over where the company is headed. One thing is certain, Apple’s results are the first of many earnings reports to be out in the next several weeks. The company now has…

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Asian markets rose on Thursday following a warning of a slowdown in global growth by the International Monetary Fund. Despite the warning, European shares rose. Stocks ticked up across Asia overnight after the IMF warned of slower global growth. In Japan, stocks surged, up more than 2.5%, while Hong Kong closed more than 1.8% higher. A rate hike by the Bank of Japan caused the dollar to strengthen further, pushing the Japanese currency down more than 1% against the U.S. dollar. The IMF cut its forecast for global growth to…

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Asian shares rose Wednesday as investors looked past a record contraction in Japan’s economy, though the Nikkei’s decline kept market sentiment in check. Equity markets around the world rose for a second day Wednesday as investors started to grapple with a host of trade and economic policy headlines, offsetting supply worries. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is in China to try to kick-start tariff talks between the two countries. U.S. equities are at record highs, while oil, mining, and industrial stocks have advanced. In Asia Pacific, markets were buoyed in…

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The good times have returned. The number of stocks closing at their 52-week highs was 44 this week, with the NSE stock index advancing to a fresh high, the S&P BSE Sensex. The biggest riser was ICICI Bank, up by 10 per cent. The most spectacularly large gainer was Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, up by 89 per cent. The worst performer was Hindalco, with a decline of 34 per cent in just three days. Indicators that normally provide some clues about the economy — the amount of gross…

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The British-owned, among the oldest and biggest life insurers in the world, had initially proposed to invest up to $4.5 billion to bring its holding to as much as 45% from 38% in the Indian company. With its investments in stocks like Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd and Chennai-based Corporate Express Ltd falling, state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has cut its stake in these companies in the past few weeks, with a planned divestment in Jindal Steel on the cards, according to market sources. LIC, with assets worth over Rs 30…

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The market is certainly making progress. From Monday through Friday, it rose 2.5 percent — its best weekly performance of the year. The question is whether the moves are sustainable. The main problem is in the United States, where the trade war with China is sapping business confidence. The economy was strong in the first quarter, but there’s growing evidence that it’s started to cool. Also, there’s still a possibility that the markets are overheating. Real estate is more expensive than it has been for years, and the cost of…

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Asian markets reversed early declines yesterday, and turned higher, helped by Wall Street stocks that rose after a bounce-back session on Wall Street. The Nasdaq climbed 1.1% following modest gains on Wall Street. Japanese stocks, despite a 1.1% intraday decline, closed higher. Chinese shares rose on the prospect of easing concerns about trade following reports that Beijing is prepared to step in to support sectors affected by tariffs from the United States, including vehicle manufacturing. “A trade agreement to end the trade war is one of the biggest economic projects…

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Asian markets struggled for direction after a volatile start Wednesday, following a selloff across Wall Street, as investors fretted over the unresolved U.S.-China trade dispute and over-leveraged Chinese companies, according to a Reuters report. Sydney and Shanghai were both down more than 2 percent in morning trading while the Nikkei 225 inched up. The bellwether Shanghai Composite exchange was one of the worst performing markets last week due to its heavy exposure to the property sector and financials. China has also been a key culprit for the year-long selloff on…

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Asian share markets were in positive territory on Thursday as optimism over the pace of global economic recovery boosted the region’s equities. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.83 per cent to close at 23,344.71 points. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.83 per cent to 2,022.13 points and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.38 per cent to 28,270.04 points. Chinese mainland markets had been closed for a public holiday. Canadian markets were closed on Thursday. The gains come a day after Statistics Canada reported the country’s unemployment rate fell to 5.9 per cent,…

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Nomura strategist Tom di Galoma warned that this is what the economic environment may look like this summer as investors fret about cooling global growth and the impact tariffs could have on the stock market. This picture for the summer is one where the business cycle has peaked, he wrote in a note to clients. It’s an expected ebb and flow that happens every year. But this summer also marks a “lag” between the business cycle peak and a catalyst such as interest rate hikes, U.S. presidential elections or the…

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