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International
Asian Markets Mixed at Wednesday's Close Amid Tech Stock Rally, Uncertain US-Iran Peace Deal
Asian markets were mixed at Wednesday's close as Wall Street's technology rally overnight matched ongoing uncertainty over a potential US-Iran peace deal.Hong Kong stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as elevated oil prices and uncertainty over the durability of the US-Iran ceasefire weighed on sentiment.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 3.32 points, marginally increasing to 64,999.41 at Wednesday's close.Leading the upside was SHIFT with a 6.1% gain, while bottom performers include SoftBank Group, which lost 7.3% on the day.In regional news, Bloomberg News reported that Japan's 40-year government bonds attracted greater demand compared with its 12-month average as investors flocked to higher yields. Wednesday's sale saw the bid-to-cover ratio reaching 2.70, greater than the 2.54 at the last auction, the report said.Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.1%, or 271.22 points, to close at 25,328.23. The Hang Seng TECH Index was down 0.8%.Top movers include Contemporary Amperex Technology, with a 6.4% increase, while CSPC Pharmaceutical Group fell by 5.4% after the session.On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite declined by 1.3% or 51.65 points, to 4,093.73.In economic news, Chinese industrial profits jumped 24.7% year over year in April, rebounding to another record high during the month, led by technology-related goods, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.For other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 2.3%; the Taiwan TWSE advanced by 1.7%; the Australian ASX 200 was up 0.7%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.8%, and the Thai Set inclined 1.1%.MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index was up 0.7%.
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International
China's Outbound Direct Investment Up 4% in January-April
China's outbound direct investment rose 3.9% year over year to 429.4 billion yuan in the first four months of 2026, according to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.Domestic investors poured 315.7 billion yuan into 5,231 overseas companies across 142 countries and regions, though that figure decreased 14% from 2025.China's actual use of foreign direct investment fell 10% to 287.7 billion yuan.Despite the decline in investment, 20,113 new foreign-invested firms were established, up 6.8%.
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International
Italian Monthly Industrial Sales Up 2% in March
Italy's industrial turnover rose 2% month over month in March, after a revised 0.5% uptick previously, according to data from statistics agency Istat published Wednesday.On a yearly basis, industrial sales were 4.4% higher, against a 0.5% gain earlier.
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