U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, as geopolitical tensions, inflation worries and mixed earnings and guidance from major banks rendered the mood a bit bearish. The major averages all ended in the red. The Dow ended with a loss of 475.84 points or 1.24 percent at 37,983.24. The S&P 500 drifted down 75.65 points...
The U.S. dollar climbed higher on Friday as escalating geopolitical tensions prompted investors to seek the safe-haven currency. Uncertainty about interest rate cuts before June contributed as well to the dollar\'s rise. The dollar index surged to 106.11 around late morning, and held firm thereafter. The index was last seen at 106.02, up 0.7% from...
The Canadian market ended weak on Friday on widespread selling as concerns about inflation, uncertainty about the likely timing of interest rate cuts, and rising geopolitical tensions weighed on sentiment. All the sectoral indices ended in negative territory. Healthcare, technology, communications, consumer discretionary, utilities, energy, materials and financials stocks fell. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index...
Japan will on Monday release February figures for core machinery orders, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In January, core machinery orders were down 1.7 percent on month and 10.9 percent on year. South Korea is scheduled to provide preliminary April figures for imports, exports and trade balance. In March, imports were down...
The services sector in New Zealand fell into contraction territory in March, the latest survey from BusinessNZ revealed on Monday with a Performance of Services Index score of 47.5. That\'s down from 52.6 in February, and it slips beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Among the individual components, sales (44.8),...
The South Korea stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last seven trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had risen just 8 points or 0.3 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,680-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Monday. The...
The Canadian market ended on a weak note on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session, amid concerns about the outlook for Fed interest rates after previous day\'s data from the Labor Department showed a bigger than expected increase in U.S. consumer prices in the month of March. Energy stocks declined, weighed down by weak...
China will on Friday release March data for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In February, imports were up 3.5 percent on year and exports rose an annual 7.1 percent for a trade surplus of $125.16 billion. The Bank of Korea will wrap up its monetary policy meeting...
The manufacturing sector in New Zealand continued to contract in March, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from BusinessNZ revealed on Friday with a Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 47.1. That\'s down from the downwardly revised 49.1 ((originally 49.3) in February, and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that...
Food prices in New Zealand were up 0.7 percent on year in March, Statistics New Zealand said on Friday - slowing from 2.1 percent in February. The smaller annual increase was due to cheaper prices for fruit and vegetables, down 13.3 percent in the 12 months to March 2024. Prices for alcoholic beverages were up...