Financial Market News

The Bank of Japan said Thursday it will provide 1.22 trillion yen ($13 billion) in emergency loans to financial institutions as part of a new program to spur lending to the country's businesses.

Japan is mired in a recession with little relief in sight, and many of its major banks have tightened their purse strings, cutting back on purchases of bonds and commercial paper from domestic companies.

This can paralyze the country's businesses, which rely on such mostly short-term funding to underwrite their everyday operations. The situation is expected to get worse at the end of the fiscal year in March, when demand for new funds increases.

Traders reacting to the plunge in share prices at a local brokerage house in Mumbai yesterday.

Asian stock markets fell sharply Thursday, with benchmarks in Tokyo and Hong Kong tumbling more than 3 percent, as more evidence of company woes and a weak U.S. job market rekindled worries about the unfolding global slump.

Every major market in the region suffered declines, marking an end to a New Year's rally which had been spurred by speculation that massive government spending and low interest rates would lead to an economic rebound later this year.

But hopes seem to fade after dour outlooks from tech heavyweight Intel, computer maker Lenovo and aluminum producer Alcoa highlighted the toll that the global slump is taking on companies. A worse-than-expected reading of the U.S. labor market only added to investor worries.

Treasury prices fell Wednesday despite a decent note auction, as investors grew more hesitant about pouring money into government debt.

Stocks suffered their worst decline in more than a month on Wednesday after a grim private-sector jobs report coupled with a revenue warning from top chip maker Intel Corp revived deep concerns about the ...

Tokyo stocks extended winning streak for a seventh trading day on Wednesday as investors continued to be optimistic about incoming Barack Obama's administration and its economic policies.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as Japan's key index rose for a seventh day but Indian shares tumbled after the chairman of major outsourcing company Satyam Computer admitted to falsely inflating profits for years. European markets opened lower.

India's Sensex index plunged more than 6 percent to 9,694 after Satyam's chairman, B. Ramalinga Raju, said in a letter to the board released to the stock exchange that the company's balance sheet was loaded with 'fictitious' assets and 'non-existent cash.'

U.S. markets held on to modest gains Tuesday as investors looked to extend a rally that began in late December.

The idea of a boring, safe investment has never sounded so good after a year in which everything from stocks to real estate got flat-out clobbered.

Mumbai: In volatile trading, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Tuesday maintained an uninterrupted rally in 2009 by adding over 60 points, extending a surge in financial stocks on speculation that ...

Jan 6 - Weaker domestic currencies and hopes of an aggressive U.S. recovery plan lifted markets across Asia Nikkei up on Canon, Sony Korean bailout of Ssangyong Motors raises Kospi China c.bank sees 8 percent ...

Hong Kong shares fell modestly Tuesday, as investors sold Chinese telecom companies that had gained recently after Beijing approved next-generation mobile licenses.

The blue chip Hang Seng Index lost 53.80 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,509.51.

The market was bound to see some selling after three straight days of gains, analysts said.

'You don't see people falling over each other to buy stocks. No one believes that if they don't buy now they'll miss the buy of the century,' said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd.

Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday, shrugging off lackluster trade overnight in the U.S. and Europe amid growing optimism the world economy would start to recover later this year.

Overseas markets, meanwhile, were poised to follow Asian bourses higher as European benchmarks gained early in the session and Wall Street futures pointed to a positive open.

After a disastrous 2008, Asian stocks have shown strength of late. Analysts say foreign investors, who pulled billion of dollars from the region last year, have begun trickling back amid speculation that government polices to shore up a decaying global economy could help Asian equities outperform in 2009.

U.S. stocks drifted between gains and losses as concern that a slump in corporate profits will stretch into 2009 offset speculation the government will revive the economy with tax cuts.

The dollar gained against other major currencies Monday on growing expectations that US president-elect Barack Obama's stimulus plans will boost the ailing American economy, dealers said.

China's shares jumped Monday on the first trading day of 2009 after the government promised to take new steps to boost economic growth.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.3 percent, or 59.91 points, to close at 1880.72. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second market added 3.2 percent to 571.13.

During a weekend visit to exporters, Premier Wen Jiabao said Beijing would enact new measures to help the steel and auto industries, according to state media. That comes on top of a massive stimulus package announced in November.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is seeking as much as $310 billion in tax cuts as part of a massive stimulus plan to counter what senior policymakers warned could be a prolonged period of economic stagnation ...

Wall Street proceeded warily into the first full week of 2009, heading for a lower opening Monday ahead of readings on auto sales and construction spending.

Some caution was to be expected after investors on Friday sent the Dow Jones industrial average soaring to a two-month high. Still, they remain hesitant about pouring more money into the battered market, given that economic data keeps coming in extremely weak.

Economists anticipate that the Commerce Department on Monday will report another sharp drop in construction spending for November, and that automakers will report further declines in December vehicle sales.

Asian stock markets rose strongly Monday, with benchmarks in Tokyo and Shanghai gaining more than 2 percent, as Wall Street's rally and stimulus plans in the U.S. and elsewhere buoyed investor hopes for ...

Tokyo stocks opened over 2 percent higher Monday on the first trading day of 2009 with the key Nikkei index topping the 9,000 mark for the first time in nearly two months as investors were buoyed by a rise on ...