Asian stocks ended Thursday\'s session mixed as rate worries lingered and China announced immediate military drills around Taiwan, marking a concerning escalation in the tensions between Taiwan and China, which has long claimed sovereignty over the island. Hawkish minutes from the Federal Reserve\'s last policy meeting boosted the dollar, which hovered near a one-week high...
German stocks held steady on Thursday after the release of encouraging private sector PMI numbers. The manufacturing sector\'s pace of contraction slowed in May and the services sector outperformed, helping underpin sentiment. The HCOB Manufacturing PMI improved to 45.4 from April\'s 42.5 while the Services PMI rose from 53.2 to 53.9. The benchmark DAX was...
French stocks were little changed on Thursday as a survey showed France\'s private sector unexpectedly contracted in May after returning to growth in the previous month. The headline HCOB flash composite output index dropped to 49.1 in May from 50.5 in April. The reading was forecast to climb to 51.0. The reduction in overall activity...
U.K. stocks were subdued on Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 4. Investors were also reacting to the results of a survey, which showed that growth across British businesses cooled noticeably this month. The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 8 points at 8,362 after falling 0.6 percent on Wednesday....
European stocks were mostly higher on Thursday after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 4 and a survey showed business activity in the euro zone accelerated in May. The HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers\' index (PMI) published by S&P Global improved to 52.3 from 51.7 in April. That was the...
European stocks pared early gains and ended on a mixed note on Thursday as investors continued to assess the likely moves of central banks with regard to interest rates in the wake of recent economic data, and the minutes of the Federal Reserve\'s latest monetary policy meeting released on Wednesday. The minutes of the Federal...
Consumer confidence in the euro area strengthened in May to its highest level since early 2022, while wage growth figures lent support to the view that the European Central Bank is set to stop policy easing with the expected interest rate cut in June. The flash consumer confidence index rose for the fourth month in...
The Switzerland market ended slightly up on Thursday after spending much of the day\'s session fairly well above the flat line. Investors assessed the latest batch of European economic data, reacted to earnings and other corporate updates. The benchmark SMI, which advanced to 12,016.03 around mid afternoon, ended with a small gain of 8.08 points...
The Canadian market is down firmly in negative territory Thursday afternoon, with stocks from across several sectors reeling under sustained selling pressure, amid concerns the U.S. interest rates will remain higher for a longer time. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 175.75 points or 0.79% at 22,171.01 a little while ago. Materials, utilities, healthcare...
The U.S. dollar gained against its major counterparts on Thursday, extending recent uptrend, amid continued bets the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for a few more months. In addition to the minutes of the central bank\'s most recent monetary policy meeting, today\'s data showing a bigger than expected drop in jobless claims, and...