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Equity Alert: Most Asian indices up on optimism over US-NATO deal framework

MUMBAI--0825 IST--Equity indices in Asia were largely higher Thursday, mirroring gains on Wall Street due to positive sentiment over the US and NATO arriving at a framework for a deal over Greenland. South Korea's KOSPI hit a fresh high yet again despite the country's economy contracting in Oct-Dec. Indices in China and Hong Kong fell.

 

US President Donald Trump said he would not be imposing tariffs on European countries and has formed a framework for a future deal with North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Secretary General Mark Rutte. The president had earlier also said he would not be using force to acquire the Arctic island, providing a collective sigh of relief over the chance of possible US military action.

 

South Korea's GDP fell 0.3% in Oct-Dec from the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, Reuters reported. This fall was against an estimated rise of 0.1%, according to a poll of economists by Reuters. The economy contracted at its steepest pace since the fourth quarter of 2022 following an expansion of 1.3% in the previous quarter. On a yearly basis, the GDP grew 1.5% in the fourth quarter after rising 1.8% in the previous quarter. The country's economy expanded 1% in 2025 compared to 2% growth in 2024. This marks its slowest annual growth rate since 2020. The government expects a growth rate of 1.8% in 2026. The Bank of Korea indicated bringing its current easing cycle to an end after keeping interest rates unchanged, prioritising foreign exchange stability as it was seen as an upside risk for the year's economic growth, Reuters said. The KOSPI, however, led the gains for the session among its regional indices. Shares of Doosan Corp. were up over 9% and those of Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix were up over 4% and 3%, respectively. 

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0823 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4715.01	(-)0.17
Hang Seng Index	26564.49	(-)0.08
KOSPI	5007.18	1.98
Nikkei 225 Day	53760.85	1.87
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3621.26	0.88
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4824.92	0.31
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8833.30	0.57

 

(Akshat Saksena)

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Equity Alert: US indices end higher; deal framework reached between US, NATO

 

MUMBAI--0741 IST--US equity indices ended higher on Wednesday buoyed by positive sentiment around the framework of a deal over Greenland between US President Donald Trump and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte. Trump also said he would not impose the proposed escalating tariffs on European countries.

 

Trump Wednesday said a framework for a deal had been reached between him and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte over the Arctic Island. Resultant to the negotiations, the US president said he would not impose the import tariffs on European nations, which were scheduled to begin from Feb. 1, CNBC reported. When asked about the deal, Trump did not disclose much, saying "It's a little bit complex, but we'll explain it down the line," according to CNBC. He did, however, disclose that the framework involves mining rights for the US as well as the 'Golden Dome' missile defence system proposed by his administration.

 

Stocks were already trading higher due to positive sentiment after Trump, in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said he would not be using force to acquire Greenland. Despite the proclamation of not using force, tensions were still high prior to the agreement as European lawmakers suspended the trade deal between the European Union and the US reached in July.      

 

Advanced Micro Devices rose nearly 8% and NVIDIA was up nearly 3% as investors returned to their preferred stocks. Bank stocks rose after Trump said he would ask the US Congress to implement his proposed credit card cap of 10%, an uncertain prospect seeing the lack of support among lawmakers, according to CNBC. Shares of Citi Group and Capital One Financial Corp. rose around 1?ch.

 

Shares of Netflix fell 2?ter the company announced lacklustre earnings and were also weighed down by a pause in a share buyback to aid in the acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery's studio and streaming business. Shares of energy companies were the highest gainers in the session, led by Halliburton Co., which was up 4%, after its earnings beat estimates, Reuters reported. Shares of Expand Energy Corp. and EQT Corp. were up 4.5% and 6.5%, respectively, after gas prices touched a six-week high due to cold weather.
 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:  

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	49077.23	1.21
NASDAQ Composite	23224.83	1.18
Dow Jones Industrial Average	6875.62	1.16

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 91.70

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

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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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