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Informist, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Indices in Asia largely down; defence cos snap 2-session gains

 

MUMBAI--0822 IST--Asian indices were largely lower Wednesday as shares of defence sector companies in the region snapped a two-day winning streak, even as investors assess the geopolitical risks pertaining to Venezuela and Greenland. 

 

Shares of Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries fell 1% during the session. South Korean company Korea Aerospace Industries stock fell over 1% and Hanwha Corp fell 1.5%. Shares of Poongsan Corp dropped over 4% during the session. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said US President Donald Trump and his team were looking into "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, which could include the utilisation of the country's military, CNBC reported. The statement further ramps up the president's already aggressive stance towards Greenland, which the president aims to acquire as a part of US, CNBC said.

 

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was trading 0.4% higher. This rise comes after domestic inflation data of the country was below analysts' estimates. The country's CPI rose 3.4% on year in November, below Reuters' expectations of 3.7%. This was also lower than the 3.8% rise seen in October, CNBC reported. For the month, the CPI stayed flat in original terms, while rising 0.2% in seasonally adjusted terms, according to a release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The unchanged monthly inflation from October indicates that price pressures may be cooling along with the case for a hike in interest rates, CNBC said. 

 

Shares of South Korean Hyundai Motor surged 11.5% during the session. The shares of the company have risen for six consecutive sessions after it announced that it was planning to deploy humanoid robots in its US factories from 2028, CNBC said. 

 

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0814 IST: 

 

Level	Last	Change in %
CSI 300 Index	4781.62	(-)0.19
S&P/ASX 200 INDEX	8716.50	0.39
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4731.79	(-)0.17
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3524.66	(-)0.39
SSE Composite Index	4078.90	(-)0.12
KOSPI	4580.70	1.22
Nikkei 225 Day	52237.41	(-)0.53
TAIEX	30361.26	(-)0.70
IDX Composite	8943.02	0.11
Hang Seng	26422.97	(-)1.08

   

 

(Akshat Saksena)

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Equity Alert: US indices end higher Tue; S&P 500, Dow Jones hit record highs

 

MUMBAI--0735 IST--Stock indices in the US ended higher on Tuesday. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit record highs of 6948.69 points and 49509.92 points, respectively, as investors seemed to have shrugged off anxieties from the US attack on Venezuela.

 

The market's reaction to the news about Venezuela highlights the gap seen between headline risk and actual price action, said Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones, according to a report by CNBC. Despite Nicolas Maduro's arrest being a significant geopolitical event, it has no immediate implication for oil supply, the factor markets truly care about, Kourkafas said, according to CNBC. The pro-cyclical rally seen since the start of the week reflects strong fundamentals, including an expected expansion of earnings momentum both within and beyond mega-cap technology, the analyst added. 

 

Shares of Amazon and Palantir ended over 3% higher each, CNBC said. Shares of Moderna surged nearly 11% after Bofa Global Research raised the stock's target price, which helped the S&P 500 Health Care Sector index rise nearly 2%, Reuters reported. Memory and storage sector stocks gained during the session after NVIDIA's Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang gave details, which included a new layer of storage technology, at a Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Shares of San Disk rose over 27%, those of Western Digital rose 17%, and those of Seagate Technology rose 14%. Shares of Micron Technology gained 10%, as all four stocks hit record highs, Reuters reported. However, Huang's comments on the efficiency of the new chips raised concerns over demand for data cooling systems, with shares of Johnson Controls and Trane Technologies falling 6.2% and 2.5% respectively. AIG said Chief Executive Officer Peter Zaffino would step down from his position, prompting shares of the company to fall 7.5%, according to Reuters. 

 

Investors await economic data as the effects of the record 43-day federal government shutdown subside, with the job openings data and the labour turnover survey data on Wednesday along with the December jobs report on Friday, Reuters said. Markets also analysed comments by Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin who re-emphasised the US central bank's careful take on further rate cuts, in contrast to comments by Governor Stephen Miran, which advocated stronger rate cuts, Reuters reported. 

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Tuesday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6944.82	0.62
NASDAQ Composite	23547.173	0.65
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49462.08	0.99

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 90.17

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

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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