Nikkei Financial News

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks retreated on Monday as concerns over the Israel-Hamas war kept risk sentiment weak, with Japan’s Nikkei index leading losses amid jitters before key inflation data this week. 

By Ankur Banerjee

Asian shares rose on Thursday as markets wagered that U.S. rates have peaked after more dovish remarks from Federal Reserve officials, while traders awaited the U.S. consumer inflation report later in the day for further monetary policy clues.

By Tim Kelly

Middle East boosted oil and Treasuries, while the sizzling September U.S. jobs report raised the rate stakes for inflation figures later in the week. Holidays in Japan and South Korea made for thin conditions but the initial bid was for bonds and the safe harbours of Japanese yen and gold, with the euro the main loser. «The risk is higher oil prices, a slump in equities, and a surge in volatility supports the dollar and yen, and undermine 'risk' currencies,» said analysts at CBA in a note. In particular, there was a chance oil supplies from Iran might be disrupted, they added. «Given the tightness already facing physical oil markets in Q4 2023, an immediate reduction in Iran's oil exports risks pushing Brent futures above $US100/bbl in the short term.» Israel pounded the Palestinian enclave of Gaza on Sunday, killing hundreds of people in retaliation for one of the bloodiest attacks in its history when Islamist group Hamas killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens more. The danger of disruptions to supply was enough to drive Brent up $4.24 to $88.82 a barrel, while U.S.

Asian shares are mostly higher in cautious trading after Wall Street drifted to a quiet close on worries about a too-hot U.S. job market

bond selling stretched into Asia trade on Friday, but may not last the day as investors waited on U.S. jobs data that could add to the case for keeping interest rates high for some time. Sliding oil prices have also provided some relief to markets, with Brent crude futures at $84.50 a barrel, some $13 or 13.5% cheaper than last week's 11-month high.

By Tom Westbrook

Asian shares rebounded from 11-month lows on Thursday as a plunge in oil prices and softer U.S. labour data helped pull Treasury yields off 16-year peaks, although a looming U.S. payrolls report could make or break the rally.

By Tom Westbrook

Asian shares eased away from their lowest levels in 10 months but were on course to clock their worst quarterly performance in a year as worries over elevated interest rates dragged on sentiment, while the dollar held strong. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.59% higher but not far off the 10-month low it touched on Thursday.

equity offerings have more than quadrupled in value this year, with investors encouraged by a surge in the Nikkei stock index to a 33-year high and signs that Japanese firms have begun to manage their capital more efficiently. A tough 2022 for equity capital markets globally resulted in a backlog of fundraising deals. Japan has also benefitted from far lower interest rates than other countries, billionaire Warren Buffett's lifting of stakes in Japanese firms and a re-allocation of funds away from China amid tensions between Beijing and Washington. Proceeds from initial public offerings and secondary share and convertible bond issues soared 343% to $23.7 billion in the first nine months of the year, LSEG data showed.

NEW DELHI : Indian benchmark indices fell the most in six days on Thursday on continued selling by foreign institutional investors (FII) amid rising oil prices and US bond yields and weak Asian markets like Hang Seng and Nikkei 225 which plunged almost a per cent and a half each. Indian investors were left poorer by ₹2.98 trillion, with the NSE’s market cap falling to ₹314.26 trillion. Underscoring the negative sentiment and possibility of an extended correction, fear gauge India Vix surged the most in six months.

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks drifted lower on Thursday, extending recent declines amid persistent fears of higher U.S. interest rates, while Chinese stocks fell on renewed concerns over the country’s beleaguered property market. 

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks retreated on Tuesday as the prospect of higher U.S. rates weighed on the technology sector, while persistent concerns over a Chinese economic slowdown also kept investors wary of regional markets. 

Asian shares were hesistant on Monday after central banks last week reinforced the message that interest rates will stay higher for longer, while investors braced for inflation data from the U.S. and Europe.Markets will also be looking for further clues on whether China's economy is regaining traction. The yen nursed losses at more than nine-month lows at 148.38 per dollar, after the Bank of Japan made no change to its dovish monetary policy. Ten-year Japanese bond yields settled at a decade high of 0.745%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.1% on Monday, after a 2.3% fall the previous week to fresh ten-month lows.

TOKYO—Japan’s government is on a mission to make buying stocks hot again. Many of America’s biggest investors are bullish on Japan. Warren Buffett shared that he increased his investments in Japanese companies during an April visit to the country.

Toyota Motor will speed up production of electric vehicles of its Toyota and luxury Lexus brands, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday. The Nikkei report said the Japanese automaker was likely to step up production of battery-powered vehicles over the coming years to reach annual output of more than 600,000 vehicles in 2025. A Toyota spokesperson was not immediately able to comment on the report. The company has previously said it targets sales of 1.5 million EVs annually by 2026 and 3.5 million, or about one-third of current global volume, by 2030. Toyota last year sold fewer than 25,000 EVs, including of its Lexus brand, worldwide. It sought to raise EV production to about 150,000 vehicles in 2023 and gradually increase it further to the 190,000-vehicle range next year, Nikkei said.

monetary stimulus, according to Reuters news report. The BOJ maintained a 0.1% interest rate and a target yield on 10-year government bonds of roughly 0% during the two-day meeting that ended on Friday, said Reuters in its news report.

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks moved in a flat-to-low range on Friday as markets continued to fret over rising interest rates, while Japan’s Nikkei tumbled amid uncertainty before a Bank of Japan meeting. 

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Kevin Buckland