Global stock markets held largely steady on Tuesday as top US and Russian diplomats held their first high-level discussions since Russia invaded Ukraine. The talks, which excluded Europe and Ukraine, ended with Moscow and Washington agreeing to appoint teams to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war. “Donald Trump continues to be the dominant force…
Asian markets were mixed Tuesday with Hong Kong resuming its tech-led rally after a meeting between President Xi Jinping and China’s top business leaders fanned hopes that a long-running crackdown on the private sector is coming to an end. The Hang Seng Index’s gains extended an impressive start to the year, with the emergence of…
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s central bank on Tuesday reduced its benchmark interest rate for the first time since October 2020 as the nation’s inflation cools. The Reserve Bank of Australia reduced the cash rate by a quarter percentage point from 4.35% to 4.1%. at its first board meeting for the year. The cut was…
China’s central bank chief Pan Gongsheng promised to park more of the country’s US$3.2 trillion foreign exchange reserves in Hong Kong, fanning speculation about how much more Beijing can earmark for the city’s assets. Beijing has always guarded the details of its forex portfolio reserves as classified information, so the exact amount of reserve funds…
It was a big disappointment for investors, but also unwelcome news for borrowers and prospective homebuyers waiting for lower interest costs. “Today was a closer call but we decided it was the right call,” Fed chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference after the central bank approved a quarter-point cut in its main lending…
South Korea’s central bank vowed to stabilize financial markets and highlighted the importance of “uninterrupted implementation” of key fiscal and economic measures, in its first statement since lawmakers voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. “The Bank of Korea intends to utilize all available policy instruments, in conjunction with the government, to respond to and…
By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares were dragged by a slide in South Korea on Monday ahead of a packed week of central bank meetings that should see borrowing costs take a step lower, while U.S. inflation data are the last hurdle to a further policy easing there. Political tumult in France and…
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks were poised for a mixed opening on Monday as traders grappled with continued political upheaval in South Korea and awaited signs of fresh stimulus from Beijing. Oil was steady after the Syrian government was toppled. Most Read from Bloomberg Australian stocks and equity futures in Hong Kong fell while those in…
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s central bank announced on Monday it had activated its open market outright reverse repo operations facility and would use it to trade with primary dealers in open market operations on a monthly basis. The bank took the decision to maintain a “reasonable abundance of liquidity in the banking system and further enrich…
Major stock markets mostly dropped Monday on profit-taking and oil prices jumped as traders weighed fresh interest-rate cuts from China’s central bank aimed at reigniting the world’s second-biggest economy. Another record session Friday on Wall Street failed to carry over into the new week and inspire a similar rally elsewhere, as main equity indices mostly…