Japan’s Nikkei 225 on Thursday hit 58,000 for the first time in history, extending its post-election rally to fresh highs, fueled by renewed confidence in domestic politics and the ruling administration’s economic agenda. The benchmark index subsequently pared gains and was trading marginally higher at 57,663. The broader Topix advanced 0.68%. Japanese stocks have notched several fresh highs in recent days, fuelled by the so-called “Takaichi trade,” following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide victory in the Lower House, said market watchers. Other markets in Asia also shrugged off a stronger-than-expected U.S. payrolls data that has dampened expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts and sent U.S. stocks lower overnight. South Korea’s Kospi jumped as much as 2.1% to a record high of 5,466.9 points, before paring gains to trade 1.82% higher. The small-cap Kosdaq traded relatively flat.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped on Wednesday and snapped a three-day win streak after the better-than-expected January jobs report failed to spark a sustainable advance. The blue-chip index lost 66.74 points, or 0.13%, and closed at 50,121.40. The S&P 500 inched down less than a point to 6,941.47. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.16% to end at 23,066.47. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January nonfarm payrolls report — which had been delayed due to a partial government shutdown that ended on Feb. 3 — showed job growth of 130,000 last month. Economists polled by Dow Jones had called for a gain of 55,000. The latest figure also marked a sizable increase from December, which was downwardly revised to 48,000.
Gold fell to around $5,050 per ounce on Thursday, trimming gains from the previous session as investors pared back expectations for Federal Reserve policy easing. The move followed stronger-than-expected US jobs data, with employment posting its largest increase in over a year in January and the unemployment rate unexpectedly declining, signalling a resilient labour market at the start of 2026. The data reinforced the Fed’s cautious stance, with traders pushing back expectations for the next rate cut to July from June. Investors are now awaiting Friday’s US consumer price index report for further insights.
WTI crude oil futures rose toward $65 per barrel on Thursday, extending gains from previous sessions and hovering near an almost five-month high as markets remained focused on US-Iran tensions. Although President Donald Trump signalled, he aims to secure an agreement with Tehran following regional talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, traders continue to worry about potential military action and the risk to supply. Limiting further upside, EIA data showed US crude inventories surged by 8.5 million barrels last week, reaching their highest level since late June.
The House on Wednesday passed a resolution disapproving of President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Canada, a blow to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and a rare Republican rebuke of the president’s signature economic policy. The resolution cleared the House 219-211, with several Republicans crossing the aisle to support it. One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted against the measure. The tariff resolution, introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., was considered a day after a procedural vote on a rule that would have barred House challenges to Trump’s tariffs failed with the support of three Republican members. Trump warned Republicans during the vote that there would be consequences for overriding him on tariffs.
The U.S. government in January ran up a smaller deficit than a year ago, while tariff collections surged and provided a reminder of how pivotal a long-awaited Supreme Court decision could be to federal fiscal health. Customs duties collected through tariffs totalled $30 billion for the month, putting the fiscal year-to-date tally at $124 billion, or 304% more than the same period in 2025. President Donald Trump first levied the duties in April 2025 with an across-the-board rate on all goods and services entering the U.S. along with a menu of so-called reciprocal tariffs on individual countries. Since then, the White House has been negotiating with its trading partners, backing off on some of the more aggressive charges while maintaining tough talk on issues.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered the Defense Department to purchase power from coal plants, his latest effort to revive an industry that has struggled to compete against cheaper energy resources. Trump signed the executive order at a White House event attended by Peabody Energy CEO James Grech. The order directs the Pentagon to secure long-term power purchase agreements with coal plants for military installations. “We’re going to be buying a lot of coal through the military now,” Trump said. Shares of Peabody rose 4% in extended trading. The president said he also directed the Department of Energy to issue funds to keep coal plants open in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky. Trump declared coal essential to U.S. national and economic security last April. He issued several executive orders at the time that aimed boost coal production.
Job growth was stronger than expected to start 2026, providing some relief to concerns about the state of the U.S. labour market. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 for January, above the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 55,000, according to seasonally adjusted figures the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday. The total also was an improvement over December, which saw a gain of 48,000 after a slight downward revision. The unemployment rate edged lower to 4.3%, below the forecast to stay unchanged at 4.4% from the prior month. A more encompassing measure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time positions for economic reasons slipped to 8%, down 0.4 percentage point from December. Markets rose following the news, with stock market futures ticking higher. Treasury yields also posted strong gains.
Albemarle, the world’s largest producer of lithium, posted a larger-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday and said it would idle a major Australian processing plant as it continues to face weak prices for the battery metal. Shares of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company fell 3.1% in after-hours trading. Lithium prices plunged more than 90% over the past two years due in part to oversupply from China, fuelling layoffs, corporate buyouts and project delays at Albemarle and peers. While prices have climbed in recent months, they still remain far below all-time highs reached in 2023. Albemarle said it would idle the last active processing unit, or train, at its Kemerton processing plant in Western Australia after closing another train at the site last year. The company also cancelled plans to add two new trains.
Tencent said on Wednesday its cloud unit had partnered with Tesla Inc to provide more software features for the latter’s electric vehicles in China. The collaboration will integrate location data from Tencent’s WeChat and will also provide intelligent suggestions for drivers. The features will be released on Tesla’s Model 3 and Y through an over-the-air update in China, and will be standard in new models, Tencent Cloud said. Tencent had taken a 5% stake in Tesla in 2017 for $1.78 billion, as the EV maker was then preparing to enter the Chinese market. Tesla has gone on to become one of the best-selling EV brands in the country, although it has faced much stiffer competition from local EV makers in recent years.
China’s market watchdog on Thursday released guidelines for the auto industry aimed at regulating pricing behaviour, curbing price wars and preventing unfair competition. The guidelines from the State Administration for Market Regulation apply to car makers, part suppliers and dealers involved in car production and new vehicle sales in China. They target practices including failure to display prices as required and deceptive promotions, while encouraging sales platforms to alert consumers to potential risk associated with "significantly low-priced" offers.
McDonald’s topped Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter global comparable sales and profit on Wednesday, as meal deals and strong marketing promotions pulled in budget-strapped U.S. diners and demand held firm in Australia and Britain. Global same-store sales at the burger giant rose 5.7% in the three months ended December 31, outpacing analysts’ average estimate of a 3.7% increase, according to data compiled by LSEG. CEO Chris Kempczinski said on an earnings call that there was growing evidence that the Chicago-based company’s value strategy was working, with gains in low-income customer visits. McDonald’s last year began subsidizing franchisees’ "extra value" meals but those subsidies are tapering off. In December, McDonald’s added a holiday-themed Grinch meal as part of its promotions. The meal notched "the highest single sales day in history," executives said. The company brought back its Monopoly tie-in after nearly a decade in October, followed by a slate of value offers as low as $5 in November.