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Equities wavered in Asia on Thursday after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates but left investors wondering how many more cuts were in the pipeline despite boss Jerome Powell warning about the struggling jobs market.After months of speculation fuelled by a string of weak labour statistics, the US central bank said it would lower borrowing costs 25 basis points, its first reduction since December.The 11-1 decision to cut — US President Donald Trump’s appointee Stephen Miran voted for a 50-point cut — came even as inflation continues to run well above policymakers’ two percent target, but analysts said the main focus was on jobs. In its post-meeting statement, the Fed said “downside risks to employment have risen” and inflation has picked up and “remains somewhat elevated”.Powell said in a news conference that the passthrough of tariffs to consumers had been slower and smaller than expected. “Labour demand has softened, and the recent pace of job creation appears to be running below the break-even rate needed to hold the unemployment rate constant,” he told reporters. The bank’s closely watched forecast for future rates showed some division on the path forward, with a narrow majority of the 19 officials assessing the outlook eyeing two more cuts but seven projecting none.And Powell remained cagey, saying decision-makers were approaching it “meeting by meeting”.Michael Pearce of Oxford Economics said the figures showed a “stark divide” that was “unusual” and that the October move could depend on jobs figures.US markets ended on a tepid note, with the Dow up but S&P 500 and Nasdaq down.Asian investors were also cautious.Tokyo rose as the Fed decision boosted the dollar against the yen and other currencies, helping Japanese exporters, while Hong Kong and Shanghai swung in and out of positivity.Seoul, Taipei and Jakarta rose, while there were losses in Sydney, Singapore, Wellington and Manila.”The selloff in rates markets after the presser suggests that investors were looking for Powell to lean more decisively toward the employment mandate,” said economists at Bank of America.”We stick with our view that the Fed will cut only once more this year, in December. “However, after Powell’s comment that (the) rate cut ‘isn’t just one action’, the risk has risen that the second cut will be pulled forward to October (with potentially a third cut in December).”Jack McIntyre at Brandywine Global, part of Franklin Templeton, said the Fed is “putting more emphasis on the softening in the labour market”. “It makes sense that more rate cuts are expected as monetary policy works with a lag and labour market statistics are a lagging economic indicator. “The weakening labour market will have a deleterious impact on inflation, so the Fed is willing to wait out sticky inflation.”The split in the Fed outlook “probably means more volatility in financial markets next year”, he added. Gold prices held losses around $3,660, having spiked Wednesday at a record above $3,707.In company news, Australian energy group Santos plunged nearly 12 percent in Sydney, after a consortium led by the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said Wednesday it had retracted a takeover bid.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.1 percent at 45,277.43 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 26,813.58  Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,882.18Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1816 from $1.1811 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3622 from $1.3626Dollar/yen: UP at 147.04 yen from 147.00 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.74 pence from 86.70 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $63.73 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $67.66 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 46,018.32 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,208.37 (close)

US stocks finished mixed Wednesday while the dollar moved higher as markets digested the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates for the first time in 2025 and signaling it could enact two more cuts this year.The moves largely corresponded to market expectations and follow recent economic reports showing weaker job growth that Fed Chair Jerome Powell said justified a greater focus on the central bank’s labor market mandate compared with inflation.Equities initially strengthened on the decision, but trading was choppy thereafter as markets digested Powell’s press conference while trying to parse whether his message was more dovish or hawkish than expected.The dollar initially retreated but later strengthened, with gains against the euro and other currencies compared with Tuesday.The bounce in the dollar “could reflect the market’s view that the Fed didn’t sound quite as dovish as markets had hoped,” said James Stanley, senior strategist at Forex.com.”That said, it would be difficult to call a rate meeting when the bank cut rates and warned that rate cuts were expected at the final two meetings of this year as anything but dovish.”Fed policymakers walk a tightrope balancing inflation and labor market risks as they mull changes to interest rates.On Wednesday, the Fed said that “downside risks to employment have risen,” even as inflation has picked up and “remains somewhat elevated.”It noted that job gains have slowed while the unemployment rate — despite being low — also inched up.Based on the projections released Wednesday, policymakers appeared to be close to evenly split between those who expect at least two interest rate cuts later this year and those who anticipate one or fewer.Powell himself reiterated that additional interest rate actions would depend on upcoming economic data.A note from EY-Parthenon economist Gregory Daco said the Fed may proceed “more gradually” and make fewer than two additional cuts in 2025.”An October cut remains possible but would likely require a negative” September jobs report, said Daco, who currently anticipates a second 25-basis-point interest rate cut in December.In Europe, London and Frankfurt stocks ended the day higher while Paris dipped.In Britain, data showing UK inflation held at 3.8 percent in August reinforced expectations that the Bank of England will maintain its key rate on Thursday and for the remainder of 2025.The Bank of Canada cut its key lending rate as expected on Wednesday. Asian stocks traded mixed, after Tuesday’s tepid showing on Wall Street. – Key figures at around 2100 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 46,018.32 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 6,600.35 (close)New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.3 percent at 22,261.33 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,208.37 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,786.98 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 23,359.18 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,790.38 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,876.34 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 26,908.39 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1811 from $1.1867 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3626 from $1.3647Dollar/yen: UP at 147.00 yen from 146.48 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.70 pence from 86.95 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $64.05 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $67.95 per barrelburs-jmb/mlm

Stock markets diverged and the dollar steadied as investors expected the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates Wednesday to shore up the world’s biggest economy.Traders took a breather from the global rally that lifted several indexes to record highs over recent weeks, as they anticipated the Fed decision and post-meeting comments by bank boss Jerome Powell.Wall Street stocks were mixed in late morning trading, with the blue-chip Dow rising while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped.In Europe, London and Frankfurt stocks ended the day higher while Paris dipped.”The Fed meeting… is one of the most hotly anticipated for the year so far,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group.While a 25-basis-point reduction — the first of 2025 — has been baked into valuations for some time, the main debate has revolved around how many more cuts are in the pipeline and how big they will be.”(Donald) Trump will be central to this meeting,” Brooks said, citing the pressure the US president has put on the Powell and the Fed to cut rates.Expectations for an extended period of easing have grown out of a string of data showing the US labour market is not as healthy as first thought. That comes even as inflation remains stubbornly above the Fed’s two-percent target, though the feared spike in prices caused by Trump’s tariff war has not fully materialised.Economists expect to see divisions among decision-makers as they try to walk the line between tempering inflation and supporting jobs.Investors will be looking to the Fed’s updated Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), released after the meeting, to get an idea whether the voting members on the Fed’s monetary policy committee see a similar pace of interest rate cuts.The Fed Funds futures market predicts two more rate cuts this year and three in 2026.Investors will also be listening to what message Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivers after the meeting.”The market wants some tacit assurances that this is not a one-and-done rate cut,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.In particular, investors will be listening to whether the Fed is currently worried more about employment or price stability, and more about labour market concerns, said O’Hare. “Failing that, and a projected pathway for two more rate cuts this year and at least three cuts next year, there will be room for disappointment in the price action,” he said.In Britain, data showing UK inflation held at 3.8 percent in August reinforced expectations that the Bank of England will maintain its key rate on Thursday and for the remainder of 2025.The Bank of Canada cut its key lending rate as expected on Wednesday. Asian stocks traded mixed, after Tuesday’s tepid showing on Wall Street. Gold prices retreated from their record above $3,700 an ounce reached Tuesday, as the likelihood of lower US interest rates makes the precious metal more attractive to investors.Shares in Nvidia fell 2.8 percent following a report that Beijing had barred major Chinese tech companies from buying the company’s world-leading AI chips.- Key figures at around 1530 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 46,049.07 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 6,597.42 New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.5 percent at 22,215.31 London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,208.37 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,786.98 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 23,359.18 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,790.38 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,876.34 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 26,908.39 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1850 from $1.1868 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3662 from $1.3657Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.34 yen from 146.49 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.73 pence from 86.87 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $64.11 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $68.04 per barrelburs-rl/jxb

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang on Wednesday said he was disappointed by a report that Beijing has barred major Chinese tech companies from buying his company’s world-leading chips, a crucial component in the generative AI revolution.California-based Nvidia’s specially designed chips have catapulted the company to become the world’s biggest by market capitalisation, with China seen as a crucial market.But geopolitical tensions between the United States and China have seen Nvidia caught up in relations between the superpowers.Washington restricts Nvidia from exporting its most advanced products to China and last month confirmed the company would pay the US government 15 percent of revenue from certain AI chip sales in the country.Beijing has responded by expressing national security concerns about Nvidia chips and urging Chinese businesses to rely on local semiconductor suppliers instead.In the latest development, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday that China’s internet regulator has instructed companies including Alibaba and ByteDance to terminate orders for Nvidia’s RTX Pro 6000D chips, state-of-the-art processors made especially for the country.”We can only be in service of a market if a country wants us to be,” Huang said at a press briefing in London, responding to a question about the FT report.”I’m disappointed with what I see, but they have larger agendas to work out between China and the United States. And I’m patient about it. We’ll continue to be supportive of the Chinese government and Chinese companies as they wish.”According to the FT, citing unnamed sources, the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered companies to end all testing and purchase plans for Nvidia’s restricted chips.The ban would follow a decision by Chinese regulators on Monday finding that Nvidia had run afoul of the country’s antitrust rules.Observers believe that Beijing’s moves to wean Chinese tech companies off Nvidia’s offerings are part of its effort to accelerate domestic production from companies like Huawei.

India’s participation in military exercises with Moscow and its  purchases of Russian oil “stand in the way of closer ties” with the EU, the bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday.”Ultimately, our partnership is not only about trade, but also about defending the rules-based international order,” Kallas said, as she announced the bloc’s strategy to strengthen EU-India ties.Alongside other Moscow allies including Iran, India has taken part in Russia’s Zapad (West) joint drills with Belarus this month, part of which took place close to NATO borders.”Participating in military exercises, purchases of oil — all these are obstacles to our cooperation when it comes to deepening the ties,” Kallas said.Despite a lack of alignment over Russia, the European Union and India are working to conclude talks on a free trade agreement by the end of 2025, amid New Delhi’s own tensions with Washington.US-India ties have been strained since President Donald Trump raised tariffs on most Indian exports to 50 percent last month in retaliation for New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil.The EU is India’s largest trading partner, with trade between the two economic giants up 90 percent over the past decade, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said alongside Kallas in Brussels.Senior figures from India and the European Union hope to meet for a high-level summit early next year.”Now is the time to double down on partnerships rooted in shared interests and guided by common values. With our new EU–India strategy, we are taking our relationship to the next level,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X.The strategy also includes a bid to build stronger ties on defence and security as well as technology and climate issues.

Hong Kong’s leader outlined plans Wednesday to diversify the city’s economy and accelerate growth, including fast-tracking an ambitious border development project and establishing the artificial intelligence sector as a “core industry”.In his annual policy speech, Chief Executive John Lee reaffirmed a growth forecast of two to three percent for the year.His announcements come as the global financial hub — which beat estimates to grow by 3.1 percent in the second quarter — navigates volatile trade tensions between Washington and Beijing and a dampened economic climate in mainland China.Hong Kong was “moving through an irreversible economic transition, but it is an essential process for a stronger and more robust economy in the future”, Lee said in a nearly three-hour address, stating his “ultimate objective” was to improve citizens’ livelihoods.Central to his plan is accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis, a mega-project aimed at urbanising land near the border with tech hub Shenzhen in mainland China.Lee said he would personally lead a new task force and introduce dedicated legislation to “fast-track” the initiative.To reduce costs and construction time, Lee pledged to adopt building technologies from China and overseas. The Northern Metropolis, first proposed in 2021, is envisioned to eventually cover a third of Hong Kong’s total land area. Activists and locals have raised concerns over its potential environmental impact as well as the strain it will put on the city’s public finances.- AI as ‘core industry’ -Hong Kong’s capital market has rebounded strongly this year, with dozens of companies from China piling into the city to raise overseas capital due to policy support from the Chinese government and optimised listing rules by Hong Kong regulators.On Wednesday, Lee said the city’s authorities would set up a task group to attract more Chinese enterprises to use the city for expanding their overseas businesses.Lee also vowed to promote artificial intelligence as a “core industry”, and to use the technology to improve governance efficiency.His administration has earmarked HK$1 billion to establish an AI research hub, he said, and will tender a 10-hectare site for a data centre cluster. Other measures announced Wednesday included plans to increase quotas for non-local students at the city’s public universities, and the establishment of gold storage facilities to solidify the city’s role as a “regional gold reserve hub”.

Hong Kong’s leader outlined plans Wednesday to diversify the city’s economy and accelerate growth, including fast-tracking an ambitious border development project and establishing the artificial intelligence sector as a “core industry”.In his annual policy speech, Chief Executive John Lee reaffirmed a growth forecast of two to three percent for the year.His announcements come as the global financial hub — which beat estimates to grow by 3.1 percent in the second quarter — navigates volatile trade tensions between Washington and Beijing and a dampened economic climate in mainland China.Hong Kong was “moving through an irreversible economic transition, but it is an essential process for a stronger and more robust economy in the future”, Lee said in a nearly three-hour address, stating his “ultimate objective” was to improve citizens’ livelihoods.Central to his plan is accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis, a mega-project aimed at urbanising land near the border with tech hub Shenzhen in mainland China.Lee said he would personally lead a new task force and introduce dedicated legislation to “fast-track” the initiative.To reduce costs and construction time, Lee pledged to adopt building technologies from China and overseas. The Northern Metropolis, first proposed in 2021, is envisioned to eventually cover a third of Hong Kong’s total land area. Activists and locals have raised concerns over its potential environmental impact as well as the strain it will put on the city’s public finances.- AI as ‘core industry’ -Hong Kong’s capital market has rebounded strongly this year, with dozens of companies from China piling into the city to raise overseas capital due to policy support from the Chinese government and optimised listing rules by Hong Kong regulators.On Wednesday, Lee said the city’s authorities would set up a task group to attract more Chinese enterprises to use the city for expanding their overseas businesses.Lee also vowed to promote AI as a “core industry”, saying the government would also use the technology to improve governance efficiency. The government plans to establish an AI research hub, tender a 10-hectare site for a data centre cluster, and use AI to improve its own governance efficiency.Hong Kong will also establish gold storage facilities to solidify the city’s role as a “regional gold reserve hub”, he added.

India’s ban on online gambling has shuttered a billion-dollar industry serving hundreds of millions of people and torpedoed the sponsorship of the national cricket team.But players say those determined to bet will find a way to access overseas and unregulated websites while fans of fantasy sport apps can still play, although for prizes and not cash.Adarsh Sharma, an advertising professional who regularly played fantasy sports games, said offshore sites will “see a sudden boom” as Indian gamblers look for a fix.”A habit once formed cannot be broken easily,” he said. “It is an addiction and people will find ways to gamble.”India’s parliament last month passed a sweeping law banning online gambling after government figures showed companies had stripped $2.3 billion annually from 450 million people.Officials said the rapid spread of the platforms caused widespread financial distress, addiction and suicide, while also being linked to fraud, money laundering and financing terrorism.The law has been challenged in court by a top online card games platform.The ban impacts websites and apps for card games and fantasy sports — including India’s wildly popular fantasy cricket — with offenders now facing up to five years in prison.India’s online gamblers will have to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to trick overseas websites into thinking they are not in the country, and also use proxy credit cards for placing a bet.The whole process may seem too cumbersome for an average internet user, but gamblers know how to dodge the rules.”We have done this before and will do it again,” one fan told AFP, asking not to be named. “We will go back to our old ways of making money.”- ‘Love of cricket’ -Technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the law separates still-legal eSports “from betting, gambling and fantasy money games that exploit users with false promises of profit”.Dream11 — which boasts of being the world’s largest fantasy sports platform, with 260 million users — posted notices that “cash games and contests have been discontinued”.It now offers prizes such as cars, phones and fridges instead.Dream11 also pulled out of a $43 million deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), with its logo no longer splashed on the jerseys of the Indian players.Jamshed Noor, a butcher in the capital Delhi, said his top win had been 600 rupees (about $7), a day’s wage for a labourer.”We play it for the love of cricket,” said Noor. “Money was definitely an attraction, but I still play, despite money being off the table now.”The law will also shake up the wider sporting industry, including the hugely lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition.”Fantasy platforms are the most aggressive advertisers in IPL and world cricket,” Karan Taurani from Elara Capital said, adding that they would now likely explore the overseas market.Santosh N, of D and P Advisory, estimated that fantasy sports and crypto platforms accounted for up to 40 percent of the advertisement IPL broadcasters earned this year.”The fantasy guys will obviously reduce their ad spends because their business model is at stake — or actually destroyed due to the ban,” Santosh told AFP.That will impact the revenue of the broadcasters, meaning less cash for the league.”When the time comes for the BCCI to renew media rights in 2027, it could very well see a lower renewal premium because broadcasters can’t afford to pay that much anymore,” he said.

Singapore’s exports slid again in August according to official figures out Wednesday, as shipments to its biggest markets — the US and China — keep dropping.Relations between the world’s two biggest economies have been wracked by trade tensions that saw them impose tit-for-tat tariffs on each other, wreaking havoc on global supply chains.As Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, Singapore depends heavily on trade, making it particularly exposed to global slowdowns — even though it only faces a 10 percent baseline tariff from US President Donald Trump’s measures.Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports shrank by 11.3 percent August 2025, faster than the revised 4.7 percent fall in July 2025, the government’s Enterprise Singapore body said.Exports to the United States tumbled nearly 29 percent in August, extending a 42.8 percent decline in July, with sharp falls in both electronic and non-electronic shipments.Exports of food preparations such as sauces to the US fell by 97.1 percent, while specialised machinery shipments plunged by 71.3 percent and disk media products tanked by 60 percent.Exports to China shrank by 21.5 percent, steeper than the 12.3 percent decrease in July, with shipments of specialised machinery falling by nearly 42 percent and integrated circuits shrinking by 36.8 percent.Exports to China of non-monetary gold, or gold used for industrial purposes, plunged by 96.1 percent.The decline in Singapore’s August exports “reflected a range of factors, notably the disruption to world trade and export supply chains caused by steep new US tariff measures,” Rajiv Biswas, chief executive of risk analytics firm Asia Pacific Economics, told AFP.China’s softer economic growth and weaker retail sales in the third quarter of this year were reflected in the country importing less from Singapore, Biswas added.Singapore last month raised its 2025 economic growth forecast to 1.5 – 2.5 percent, from zero – 2.0 percent, but warned the outlook for the rest of the year remains clouded by global uncertainty, in part due to US tariffs.

European firms still face challenges in securing access to crucial rare earths from China, a business lobby warned Wednesday, despite a July deal to speed up exports.China dominates the global industry for extracting and refining the strategic minerals, giving it vital leverage in a renewed trade war this year with Washington.Since April, Beijing has required licences for certain exports, sending ripple effects across worldwide manufacturing sectors.Following a tense summit in July hosted by Beijing, European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said that leaders had agreed to an improved mechanism for Chinese exports of rare earth minerals to the bloc.But in its annual position paper released Wednesday, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said that “many companies — particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) — are still experiencing significant supply chain disruptions”.”No long-term, sustainable solution has been put forward,” it said, adding that the Chamber is in “regular contact” with Chinese authorities on the matter.”We have a number of members who are right now suffering significant losses because of these bottlenecks,” Chamber president Jens Eskelund told journalists.”We have raised with our members more than 140 applications and it’s a fraction of these so far that have been resolved,” he said.”So this has not gone away.”In its latest publication, the lobby representing over 1,600 member companies put forward 1,141 recommendations to Chinese policymakers, aimed at smoothing over various obstacles faced by European firms in the country.Chief among those hurdles this year, Eskelund said, is a wavering Chinese economy that has struggled to mount a robust rebound since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.Sluggish consumption, a manufacturing glut and prolonged woes in the country’s vast property sector are among the main challenges now vexing Beijing policymakers and businesses.In a sign of entrenched woes facing the world’s second-largest economy, data released this week showed factory output and consumption rising in August at their weakest pace in around a year. “I actually see a greater convergence in terms of the challenges Chinese companies have and the challenges foreign companies have,” said Eskelund.”The big enemy here — that’s the state of the domestic economy and supply-demand balance,” he said.”I think we see completely eye-to-eye with the vast majority of Chinese companies.”