Asia markets climbed Monday, led by China and Hong Kong stocks, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled that the central bank could begin easing monetary policy next month in his widely anticipated annual speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Mainland China’s CSI 300 extended its gains for the fourth consecutive session, climbing 2.08% to end the day at 4,469.22 after hitting a 37-month high earlier in the day. Over in India, the benchmark Nifty 50 added 0.53%, while the BSE Sensex index moved up 0.51%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 benchmark rose 0.41% to close at 42,807.82, while the broader Topix index ticked up 0.15% to 3,105.49. Strong gains were also seen in Taiwan’s Taiex index, which advanced 2.16% to 24,277.38.
Stocks fell on Monday as investors looked ahead to Nvidia earnings later in the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 0.22% at 21,449.29. The broad market S&P 500 traded 0.43% lower to settle at 6,439.32, while the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 349.27 points, or 0.77%, at 45,282.47. President Donald Trump echoed that sentiment, saying Monday morning that he will make deals like the Intel stake “all day long.” The moves come after stocks saw a massive rally Friday that took the Dow to record highs. The surge was sparked by a Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speech in which he signalled the central bank could begin easing monetary policy next month.
Gold prices held steady on Monday, as the market’s focus shifted to upcoming U.S. PCE data for cues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path, while a stronger dollar capped gains. Spot gold inched up 0.1% at $3,373.49 per ounce after hitting its highest level since August 11 on Friday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery was flat at $3,418.60. Gold prices climbed to a near two-week high on Friday, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signalled a possible interest rate cut at the U.S. central bank’s meeting next month. Investors are now awaiting the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures data, due on Friday, for further clues on the central bank’s future rate cut path.
Oil prices climbed on Monday as traders anticipated more U.S. sanctions and Ukrainian attacks targeting energy infrastructure in Russia could disrupt supplies. Brent crude futures rose $1.07, or 1.58%, to close at $68.80, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained $1.14, or 1.79%, to settle at $64.80. U.S. President Donald Trump said again on Friday that he would impose sanctions on Russia if there was no progress toward a peaceful settlement in Ukraine in two weeks. He has also said he may hit India with harsh tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil. Over the weekend, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Russia had made “significant concessions” toward a negotiated settlement in the 3-1/2-year war.
The dollar clung to modest gains against major currencies on Monday, stabilising after a steep fall last week that followed remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that raised expectations of a rate cut next month. The euro declined 0.18% to $1.1699, pulling back from a four-week high of $1.174225 touched on Friday. Sterling and the Swiss franc were each down 0.1%. Major brokerages, including Barclays, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, expect a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in September following Powell’s remarks on Friday when he said risks to the U.S. jobs market were rising, although he also said inflation remained a threat
Donald Trump said he would like to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year as South Korea’s leftwing President Lee Jae Myung visited the White House against a backdrop of tensions between Washington and Seoul. Speaking in the Oval Office alongside Lee on Monday, Trump touted his “great relationship” with Kim, who he met for a high-profile if largely inconclusive summit in Singapore during his first term in office. “I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong Un in the appropriate future,” the US president said. When asked about the timing of a possible summit with Kim, Trump answered: “I’m meeting a lot of people . . . it’s hard to say that, but I’d like to meet him this year.” His desire for a meeting with Kim was blessed by the South Korean president who said he asked for the US president to play a role “in establishing peace on the Korean peninsula”.
Postal carriers across Europe are planning to suspend some shipments to the U.S. as nations prepare for the end of a longstanding trade rule. Certain shipments from Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Switzerland are due to be paused in the coming days and weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the century-old “de minimis” exemption. The trade policy, sometimes referred to as a “loophole,” has allowed shipments valued under $800 to enter the U.S. virtually duty-free. The practice is set to end for imports from around the globe on Friday following Trump’s executive order. The suspensions will impact shipments valued under $800, and largely exclude gifts and letters. Most of the countries said they have to pause shipments because their systems weren’t built for the new requirements and they’re unsure how to properly process the shipments under the new rules.
Banks are pushing to change new US stablecoin rules over fears they will spark trillions of dollars’ worth of outflows, underlining growing competition between Wall Street and the cryptocurrency industry. Don't show this again Banking lobbies including the American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute and the Consumer Bankers Association last week warned lawmakers of a “loophole” in regulation that will let some crypto exchanges indirectly pay interest to stablecoin holders. Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to real world assets such as the US dollar. The Genius Act, a law Congress passed in July to regulate the $288bn global stablecoin market, prohibits issuers from paying “yield” or interest to customers. This means that under the new rules, banks will be allowed to issue their own stablecoins, but barred from paying any interest. Banks fear this would create an uneven playing field and spark mass deposit outflows away from them if customer choose to earn yield by holding stablecoins at crypto exchanges instead of coins or cash dollars at banks.
President Donald Trump on Monday boasted about the government’s new stake in Intel and said he’s determined to do similar deals. “I will make deals like that for our Country all day long,” the president posted on Truth Social. Trump added that “stupid people” are upset with a move that he said will bring more money and jobs to the U.S. “I will also help those companies that make such lucrative deals with the United States. ... I love seeing their stock price go up, making the USA RICHER, AND RICHER,” he said. “More jobs for America!!! Who would not want to make deals like that?” Earlier in the morning, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said the Intel move is part of a broader strategy to create a sovereign wealth fund that could include more companies.
China Evergrande Group was delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday — an ignominious exit for the former high-flying developer that once epitomized Beijing’s economic rise and later came to symbolize the country’s property bust. Following its listing in 2009, Evergrande had become one of China’s hottest stocks, with the company’s market cap peaking at $51 billion in 2017. Trading in the company’s shares had been suspended since January 2024 when it received a liquidation order, with its market value falling to just above $280 million. Evergrande, once China’s largest developer by sales, will now be remembered as the world’s most indebted developer with more than $300 billion in debt and whose default set off a broader years-long crisis that has weighed on the country’s economic growth.
Israel struck Nasser hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 20 people, including five journalists. Officials at the hospital and witnesses said Israel then struck the site a second time, killing other journalists as well as rescue workers and medics who had rushed to the scene to help. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel deeply regretted what he called a "tragic mishap". Israel valued the work of journalists and medical staff, he said, adding that Israel's war was with Hamas. Israel's military, the Israel Defence Forces, acknowledged striking the area of Nasser hospital and said the chief of the general staff had ordered an inquiry.
Nvidia announced Monday that its latest robotics chip module, the Jetson AGX Thor, is now on sale for $3,499 as a developer kit. The company calls the chip a “robot brain.” The first kits ship next month, Nvidia said last week, and the chips will allow customers to create robots. After a company uses the developer kit to prototype their robot, Nvidia will sell Thor T5000 modules that can be installed in production-ready robots. If a company needs more than 1,000 Thor chips, Nvidia will charge $2,999 per module. CEO Jensen Huang has said robotics is the company’s largest growth opportunity outside of artificial intelligence, which has led to Nvidia’s overall sales more than tripling in the past two years.
Elon Musk’s xAI sued Apple and OpenAI on Monday, accusing the pair of an “anticompetitive scheme” to thwart artificial intelligence rivals. The lawsuit, filed by Musk’s AI startup xAI and its social network business X, alleges Apple and OpenAI have “colluded” to maintain monopolies in the smartphone and generative AI markets. “In a desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly, Apple has joined forces with the company that most benefits from inhibiting competition and innovation in AI: OpenAI, a monopolist in the market for generative AI chatbots,” according to the complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. An OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement: “This latest filing is consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment.”
Eli Lilly’s stock is still recovering after the drugmaker released trial data earlier this month on its closely watched obesity pill that underwhelmed Wall Street. In a key late-stage trial, Eli Lilly’s pill, orforglipron, caused less weight loss and had higher side effects than what analysts were expecting. The pill’s efficacy also appeared to come in slightly below that of Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide for obesity, which showed strong data in a separate study. Shares of Eli Lilly fell about 13% on the day the trial results were released, although they’re up about 12% since then. That means Eli Lilly’s pill is absorbed more easily in the body and doesn’t require dietary restrictions like Novo Nordisk’s does. Orforglipron will also be easier to manufacture at scale, which is crucial as demand for obesity and diabetes injections outpaces supply. Neither company has released prices for its respective pill, but some analysts said Eli Lilly’s drug could potentially have a lower price than Novo Nordisk’s pill. That would be a notable edge, as many health plans in the U.S. still don’t cover obesity treatments.