Asian stocks were mostly lower in relatively thin end-of-year trading after US equities dropped on Friday, led by losses in technology shares.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index snapped a five-day rally as shares slipped in Australia and Japan while they gained in Hong Kong. Treasuries were little changed in Asia after yields climbed last week, potentially weighing on shares. Trading is likely to remain slim amplifying potential moves due to the year-end holiday season.
Stock market today: Dow, S&P, Nasdaq slide on Big Tech losses, but weekly gains hold
US stocks closed the holiday week on a downbeat note as Wall Street slogged to the finish of a largely triumphant year. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 1.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) shed 1.5% Friday at the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gave up 0.8%. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) hovered near seven-month highs around 4.6%.
Gold edges up as focus shifts to incoming Trump administration
Gold prices ticked up on Monday, while investors looked forward to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook and President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which could shape the metal’s 2025 trajectory. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $2,626.30 per ounce as of 0318 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $2,638.70. The dollar index has been rather flat, helping gold maintain its sideways movement, said Kelvin Wong, OANDA’s senior market analyst for Asia Pacific.
Oil inches lower in thin trade, investors eye China, U.S. data
Oil prices slipped lower on Monday in thin holiday trade ahead of the year-end as traders awaited more economic data from China and the U.S. later this week to assess growth in the world’s two largest oil consumers. Brent crude futures fell 6 cents to $74.11 a barrel by 0111 GMT while the more active March contract was at $73.73 a barrel, down 6 cents. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 8 cents to $70.52 a barrel.
South Korea Air Crash That Killed 179 Poses Bird-Strike Mystery
Investigators probing the cause of the worst civil aviation accident ever in South Korea will focus on a bird strike and the unusual landing-gear failure in the final moments of the fateful flight that left all but two of the 181 occupants of the Boeing Co. 737 jet dead.
Jimmy Carter, the farmer, president and Nobel peace crusader, dies at age 100
Jimmy Carter rose from a Georgia farm to become president of the United States and a Nobel Prize-winning peace and human rights activist. Carter became the nation’s 39th president in 1977, defeating President Gerald Ford in the election more than two years after the Watergate scandal drove Richard Nixon from the Oval Office. He lived longer than any other U.S. president.
Peru closes ports, beaches after rogue waves batter coastline
PERU closed ports and public beaches as rogue waves as high as four meters (13 feet) battered the South American coastline over the weekend. Peru’s national center for emergency operations announced 91 of the nation’s 121 ports would remain closed until Jan. 1 due to the strong surf, according to a post on X.
Amedisys shares rose 4.7% after the home-care provider and UnitedHealth Group each waived its right to terminate their merger agreement due to a failure of closing the deal by Friday, the date by which the merger was to have closed.
Amedisys says both companies waived right until the earlier of either 10th business day following a final order issued by District Court of Maryland on US DOJ complaint regarding merger that permanently prohibits closing of deal or Dec. 31, 2025.
Lamb Weston shares gained 2.6% after Jana Partners tapped Jeffery DeLapp for a potential director candidate as the activist investor continues to seek changes at the french-fry supplier.
DeLapp previously served as the president of Lamb Weston when it was owned by ConAgra Foods.
Nvidia Supplier Ibiden Weighs Faster Expansion for AI Demand
Ibiden Co., the dominant supplier of chip package substrates used in Nvidia Corp.’s cutting-edge semiconductors, may need to dial up the pace of production capacity increases to keep up with demand, according to its chief executive officer.
Dollar edges down, yen hovers near 5-month low on BOJ caution
The buoyant dollar slipped a notch on Friday at the end of a holiday-thinned trading week, while the yen hovered near a five-month low as traders chewed over contrasting messaging from a hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve and a cautious Bank of Japan. Traders are betting U.S. rates will remain elevated for longer, sending Treasury yields higher in recent weeks and in turn boosting the dollar against other major currencies.
Trump sides with Elon Musk in H-1B visa debate, says he’s always been in favor of the program
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) -President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday sided with key supporter and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk in a public dispute over the use of the H-1B visa, saying he fully backs the program for foreign tech workers opposed by some of his supporters. Trump’s remarks followed a series of social media posts from Musk, the CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and SpaceX, who vowed late Friday to go to “war” to defend the visa program for foreign tech workers. Trump, who moved to limit the visas’ use during his first presidency, told The New York Post on Saturday he was likewise in favor of the visa program. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” he was quoted as saying.
Inflation in Japan’s capital accelerates, keeps rate hike prospects intact
Core inflation in Japan’s capital accelerated in December while services inflation held steady, data showed on Friday, keeping alive market expectations for a near-term interest rate hike. Factory output, however, fell in November for the first time in three months, suggesting that softening overseas demand was taking a toll on the export-reliant economy. The data will be among factors the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will scrutinize at its next policy meeting on Jan. 23-24, when some analysts expect it to hike short-term interest rates.
