Swiss watch exports tumbled in August as Chinese demand remained weak and stiff US tariffs went into effect. Exports fell about 17% from a year earlier, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said in a statement Thursday. All main markets saw double-digit declines, with China down 36% and the US — the watch industry’s…
The next few weeks will give Wall Street a clear reading on whether this latest stock market rally will continue — or if it’s doomed to get derailed. Jobs reports, a key inflation reading and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision all hit over the next 14 trading sessions, setting the tone for investors as…
China’s factory activity remained stuck in contraction in August, as a government crackdown on price wars holds back production and offsets the boost for manufacturers of the US’ extended trade truce. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was 49.4, versus 49.3 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday. The median estimate of economists…
While Chinese stocks traded in Hong Kong climbed for a fourth straight month, derivatives wagers show investors are skeptical about the market. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index has rebounded 23% from a low in April, and implied volatility for the gauge posted its lowest monthly average in four years. But compared with actual swings,…
US stocks retreated from records as investors took profits after the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying inflation remained stubbornly high last month. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.7% at 11:10 a.m. in New York, slipping below the key 6,500 level. The gauge is still on track to notch four straight months of gains and…
Just over two years ago, a plunge in Vietnam’s stocks left Pham Nam with a loss of 2 billion dong ($76,269) and led him to sell his Hyundai car. Nam swore he’ll never invest again. But a 22% rally this year in the benchmark VN Index has compelled Nam to wade back in with his…
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer sounded a cautiously optimistic note on discussions with China on rare earth flows, following trade talks that further steadied ties between the economies. Greer said the key industrial components were a focus of negotiations in Stockholm last week that Beijing said led to an extension of their tariff truce. Without…
Chinese authorities summoned Nvidia Corp. to discuss alleged security risks related to its H20 chips, casting doubt over the domestic business of the world’s most valuable company weeks after co-founder Jensen Huang met senior officials in Beijing. The Cyberspace Administration of China called company representatives into a meeting to discuss what it deemed serious security…
Chinese sovereign bonds are coming under pressure as growing optimism over local stocks drives the correlation between the two markets toward the most extreme levels since the pandemic. The 90-day correlation between the CSI 300 Index and the Bloomberg China Treasury Total Return Index is heading toward its most negative level since 2020. The bond…
Investors looking to protect against a pullback with stocks at peaks are venturing beyond plain-vanilla options. The steady grind higher in the S&P 500 Index has pushed most gauges of implied and realized volatility to the lowest levels in months — in some cases years. The collapse in volatility after the April tariff shock has…