UPDATE: Japanese stocks surged 3.4% today, propelling the Nikkei 225 to a record high of 49,185.50 as trade tensions between the US and China ease. Conciliatory remarks from US President Donald Trump over the weekend have sparked optimism across global markets.
Tokyo’s rally follows the ruling party’s confirmation of a new coalition deal, positioning Sanae Takaichi to become prime minister. This shift is expected to stabilize Japan’s political landscape, which has recently faced significant turmoil.
Markets opened positively worldwide, with analyst Joshua Mahony from Scope Markets noting that “fears around the US-China trade spat are abating.” In Europe, the Frankfurt stock market rose 1.1%, while London’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.4%.
However, Paris saw a rare decline, with shares of BNP Paribas plummeting nearly 8% after a US court found the bank liable for past atrocities in Sudan. The fallout affected other French banks, with Credit Agricole and Societe Generale both down over 1%.
Across the Atlantic, a significant outage hit Amazon‘s cloud services, disrupting various online platforms for several hours but reportedly stabilizing ahead of Wall Street’s reopening.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index climbed 2.4%, while Shanghai saw a rise of 0.6%. China’s economy reported growth in line with expectations for the third quarter, albeit at its slowest pace in a year. This data comes just as top Communist Party officials gather for a crucial four-day meeting focused on long-term economic strategies.
Investor sentiment has been buoyed by the announcement of further trade negotiations set for this week between Washington and Beijing. Trump had recently indicated that the 100% tariffs threatened on Chinese rare-earth exports are “not sustainable,” hinting at potential concessions that could extend the current 30% tariff truce beyond its November 10 deadline.
Market analysts like Chris Weston from Pepperstone believe that the recent remarks from Trump have prompted traders to anticipate a more favorable outcome. “Markets appear priced for a positive or at least less-bad outcome,” he stated.
In the US, regional bank stocks rebounded on Friday after a challenging week, contributing to positive momentum leading into the new trading week. All three main Wall Street indices closed higher last week, reflecting growing confidence among investors.
As the global economic landscape shifts rapidly, traders and investors are advised to keep a close eye on upcoming trade discussions and political developments in Japan. The current environment promises to be pivotal for both the Asian and global markets, setting the stage for potentially transformative changes.
For real-time updates, follow our coverage on this developing story.
