A currency trader reads documents at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Hong Kong, China — Asian stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday after a tech rally on Wall Street, but their gains remained modest in thin Christmas Eve trade.
Overnight, European stocks bounced around while US equities shook off early weakness to push higher as investors waited to see if a so-called Santa Claus rally would materialize.
Article continues after this advertisementUS “stocks didn’t really have any direction in the morning, then we got this tech rally that just sort of drifted higher all day,” said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.
FEATURED STORIES BUSINESS Peso may further depreciate to 60 vs $1 territory in 2025 BUSINESS BIZ BUZZ: Almendras hangs up Ayala hat BUSINESS Business as usual: Top 10 most read business stories in 2024Analysts said that could help boost semiconductor-related shares, including in Tokyo, although the key Nikkei index was down 0.3 percent at the break.
READ: Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for ‘Santa Claus rally’
Article continues after this advertisementHong Kong was up 0.9 percent and Shanghai gained 0.5 percent. Taipei rose 0.8 percent and Wellington was up 0.7 percent, but Seoul declined 0.2 percent.
Article continues after this advertisementHang Seng Bank said in a note that Hong Kong stocks were “consolidating before the long holiday”.
Article continues after this advertisementIt was among several exchanges, including Sydney, closing early on Tuesday.
“This is the time of the year when there’s a lot of noise and little to no signal in price action,” said Kyle Rodda, senior market analyst at Capital.Com cited by Bloomberg News.
Article continues after this advertisement“There’s a high chance of a pretty slow day for the region and an uneventful rest of the week as a high proportion of the markets log off for the holidays.”
Despite the gains, Asian stocks faced downward pressure “as the Bank of Japan warned against foreign exchange speculation and Australia cut its iron ore price forecast, negatively impacting Japanese and Australian markets”, Hang Seng Bank added.
Honda shares soared 16 percent after the Japanese auto giant announced a buyback of up to 1.1 trillion yen ($7 billion), as it enters merger talks with struggling rival Nissan.
The talks on collaboration between Honda and Nissan would create the world’s third-largest automaker, expanding development of EVs and self-driving tech.
Sitting at wooden benches, men and women stack tobacco leaves in one hand –- the components must be dry but soft, like the velvety texture of leather.
Data released by the BSP on Tuesday showed the public sector’s foreign borrowings from July to September this year went up by 36 percent from the $2.81 billion in the same period last year.
Honda’s CEO insisted it was not a bailout for Nissan, which announced thousands of job cuts last month and reported a 93 percent plunge in first-half net profit.
Key figures around 0200 GMTTokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 39,043.95
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 20,062.57
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,369.54
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0438 from $1.0431 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2581 from $1.2567
casino free spins no depositDollar/yen: UP at 156.47 yen from 156.45 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.95 pence from 82.98 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $69.59 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $73.01 per barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 42,906.95 (close)
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London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8777rainbow,102.72 (close)
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