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Informist, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asian markets mixed; Japan indices down after record high Wed

 

MUMBAI--0820 IST--After a significant jump Wednesday, Asian equity markets showed a mixed trend Thursday tracking US indices. Investors bet on a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve at its monetary policy meeting outcome next month. Japanese indices were the worst hit in the region after record highs for two consecutive days.

 

Heavy industry and electronics stocks led the declines in Japan's benchmark indices. A stronger yen also weighed on the market. In the early trade, the Nikkei 225 and the Topix were down more than 1?ch. Both the indices were in the red after six sessions of gains and rising around 6-7% over this period. 

 

Australia's unemployment rate eased to 4.2% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, in line with estimates of economists polled by Reuters. It was lower than the 4.3% unemployment rate in June, according to the data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. Meanwhile, the employment print rose by 24,500 people in July, higher than a revised increase of 1,000 in June. At 0811 IST, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.8% higher.

 

Among other indices in the region, South Korea's Kospi reversed its early gains and was down 0.2%. The FTSE Singapore Straits Times was down 0.4%, while the Chinese indices were higher, with the CSI 300 up 0.8% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.4%.

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0811 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4213.5962	0.88
Hang Seng Index	25716.68	0.40
KOSPI	3220.60	(-)0.12
Nikkei 225 Day	42687.97	(-)1.36
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3059.11	(-)1.06
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4255.98	(-)0.39
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8897.00	0.79

 

(Simran Rede)

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Equity Alert: S&P, Nasdaq hit new highs Wed on better-than-view July CPI

 

MUMBAI--0746 IST--US benchmark indices closed higher Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite hitting fresh all-time closing highs for the second day. A better-than-expected inflation print for July boosted sentiment and raised hopes that the US Federal Reserve may ease interest rates.

 

Signs that US import tariffs have not fully penetrated into consumer prices came as a relief to investors this week as they await the impact of trade uncertainty on the economy. The CME Fedwatch tool showed a 93.8% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut by the Fed in September. The central bank last lowered its key interest rates in December. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Wednesday said he thought an aggressive 50-bps rate cut was possible, given the recent weak employment numbers, Reuters reported.

 

However, the gains in the equity market were not as sharp as on Tuesday due to weakness in some information technology stocks. Investors likely booked profits in stocks such as Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft. "Valuations are elevated. I do think, though, at the end of the day, the key will be the delivery of earnings, and that's what we're seeing," Reuters quoted Katherine Bordlemay, co-head of client portfolio management, fundamental equities at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, as saying.

  

Following are the closing levels of US indices overnight:

 

INDEX	LAST LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	44922.27	1.04
NASDAQ Composite	21713.14	0.14
S&P 500	6466.58	0.32

 

(Simran Rede)

 

US$1 = INR 87.44

 

End

 

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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