Japan stocks soar but rest of Asia uneven as Miran gets Fed nod
But declines on the Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia bourses underscored fragile investor confidence after a retreat on Wall Street, as traders weighed the impact of appointments to the U.S. Federal Reserve on its policy direction.
Japan's Nikkei 225 (.N225), opens new tab rose 2% and the Topix index (.TOPX), opens new tab climbed more than 1% to a fresh record, trading above 3,000 for the first time.
Shares in SoftBank Group (9984.T), opens new tab rallied as much as 11% after the technology investor reported that it swung back to profit in the first quarter. Sony Group (6758.T), opens new tab gained 6%, adding to its earnings-fuelled 4.1% advance from Thursday.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab slipped 0.6% with Hong Kong leading declines, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses after nearing a one-week high.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to fill a vacant seat at the Federal Reserve for a few months while the White House seeks a permanent addition to the central bank's governing board and continues its search for a new Fed chair.
"It locks in a vote for rate cuts at all the meetings between now and the end of January," said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank in Sydney.
"Markets are already travelling with a very strong expectation that there will be a rate cut," he added. "Though there's a question mark over the whether he'll succeed in ratification in time for the September meeting."
The market is also digesting a Bloomberg News report that Fed Governor Christopher Waller is the top candidate to replace Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends on May 15, 2026.
Gold futures hit a record high after a report in the Financial Times that the United States had imposed tariffs on imports of 1-kg gold bars, which comprise the bulk of Switzerland's bullion exports to the U.S., citing a letter from Customs and Border Protection. Spot gold was 0.1% lower, with bullion last trading at $3393.36 per ounce.
U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis , were up 0.3%, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4%, on track to extend gains into a third day.
The rally for stocks comes "against the backdrop of an emerging titanic dovish pivot at the Federal Reserve," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose to 4.2442%, unchanged from the U.S. close on Thursday, after weak demand at an auction of 30-year bonds, the latest in a string of lacklustre sales this week.
The rally in Japanese stocks follows a mixed bag of earnings reports for the country's biggest exporters, as some companies such as Toyota Motor (7203.T), opens new tab slashed their profit forecasts due to U.S. tariffs, while Sony and Honda (7267.T), opens new tab said the impact would be less than feared.
As the effective date of recent U.S. trade duties arrived, Tokyo's trade negotiator said the U.S. government on Thursday promised it would fine-tune some of its overlapping tariffs on Japanese goods to avoid the duties being paid on some products twice.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI), opens new tab fell 0.7%, with technology shares leading declines and China's blue-chip CSI 300 index (.CSI300), opens new tab fluctuating between gains and losses, and last up 0.1%. Australian stocks (.AXJO), opens new tab were 0.1% lower and Korea's Kospi fell 0.7%.
The dollar rose 0.1% against the yen to 147.24 .
Data on Friday showed Japanese household spending data rose by a slower-than-anticipated 1.3%. The data is being closely watched for clues on consumption as the Bank of Japan debates the likelihood of resuming interest rate increases.
The European single currency dipped 0.1% to $1.1652, having gained 2.13% in a month, while the dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up 0.2% at 98.188.
In oil markets, Brent futures were unchanged at $66.45 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures were little changed at $63.81.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Coin Geek
24 minutes ago
- Coin Geek
North Korea exploits job market in latest cyberattacks: report
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... In its ongoing campaign to evade sanctions and raise funds, North Korea's innovative hacking army has turned to the international job market, using artificial intelligence (AI) to pose as remote IT workers and offering fake IT jobs to gain access to western companies' cloud systems. North Korea, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has been continuously under some form of sanction since the end of the Korean War in 1953, primarily trade and financial restrictions from the United States. However, the sanctions were dramatically expanded in 2006 after North Korea's first test of its nuclear weapon program, with a number of countries and international bodies imposing additional investment, financial assistance, and travel sanctions. Up until Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, North Korea was the most sanctioned country in the world. Naturally, these sanctions have taken a toll. Accurate data for North Korea can be hard to come by, but in 2023, the Bank of Korea (BOK) estimated North Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) at around $29.6 billion, which would place it around 109th in the world. For comparison, South Korea is 15th, at around $1.7 trillion. In recent years, North Korea has increasingly turned to hacking and cyberattacks as a way to make and launder money, with the digital asset and blockchain space proving particularly fruitful. The social media gateway Last week, Google Cloud published its H2 2025 Cloud Threat Horizons Report, which revealed that the 'Google Threat Intelligence Group' is 'actively tracking' UNC4899, a North Korean hacking operation that successfully hacked two companies after contacting employees via social media. In both cases, 'under the guise of freelance opportunities for software development work,' UNC4899 attackers successfully convinced the targeted employees of the companies to download and run malware, which established connections between the hacker-controlled command-and-control infrastructures and the target companies' cloud-based systems. After gaining access, UNC4899 conducted 'several internal reconnaissance activities on the victims' hosts and connected environments, before obtaining credential materials they used to pivot to the victims' cloud environments.' Eventually, the hacking group had the necessary credentials and information to transfer 'millions worth of cryptocurrency' out of company accounts. According to cloud security firm Wiz, which also reported on the UNC4899 hacks, this type of cyberattack falls within a cluster of such activity referred to by the U.S. government as 'TraderTraitor.' 'TraderTraitor has conducted several major campaigns since 2020, all sharing common tactics (social engineering, trojanized malware or code) but targeting different parts of the cryptocurrency ecosystem,' explained Wiz. The U.S. Treasury confirmed that the North Korea-backed entities behind TraderTraitor are tracked as Lazarus Group, APT38, BlueNoroff, and Stardust Chollima. The former of these, Lazarus Group, is the notorious North Korean hacking organization behind—among other attacks—the record-breaking February 2025 hack of digital asset exchange Bybit, in which the group stole $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum's ETH token—the largest exploit of its kind. Financial gain is the primary strategic objective of TraderTraitor, but Wiz also warned that it 'may also pursue strategic espionage objectives in the crypto/blockchain sector,' with reports indicating the attackers appear to seek to acquire sensitive cryptocurrency intellectual property and technology. While infiltrating companies by offering freelance work to existing employees has seen some notable successes for North Korean hackers, it's not the only employment-related avenue proving profitable for the country. Wolves in sheep's clothing On August 4, U.S.-based cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike released its '2025 Threat Hunting Report,' in which it highlighted the rise of the 'enterprising adversary.' In the context of North Korea, the company identified more than 320 incidents over the past 12 months in which state operatives gained fraudulent employment as remote software developers for Western companies. According to CrowdStrike, this marks a 220% increase from the previous year. Essentially, the scheme involves North Korean actors using false identities, resumes, and work histories, usually generated by artificial intelligence, to gain employment and earn money for the regime. The fake employees, many of whom don't speak English fluently, then use sophisticated AI to do the majority of the work required of them. CrowdStrike identified the North Korean hacking group dubbed 'Famous Chollima' as one of the principal offenders, conducting insider threat operations at 'an exceptionally high operational tempo.' 'Famous Chollima has been able to sustain this pace by interweaving GenAI-powered tools that automate and optimize workflows at every stage of the hiring and employment process,' said the report. This includes using generative AI and other AI-powered tools to draft resumes, modify or 'deepfake' their appearance during remote interviews, and translate for them. 'Once hired, Famous Chollima IT workers use GenAI code assistants (such as Microsoft Copilot or VSCodium) and GenAI translation tools to assist with daily tasks and correspondence related to their legitimate job functions,' explained the report. 'These operatives are not fluent in English, likely work three or four jobs simultaneously, and require GenAI to complete their work and manage and respond to multiple streams of communication.' Once employed, these operatives can also use their position and credentials to gain access to sensitive company data, which they can later use to extort the company. In this part of the operation, AI tools again come in useful to hackers, as CrowdStrike noted: 'They are using publicly available models to aid their reconnaissance, vulnerability research, and phishing campaign content and payload development.' CrowdStrike recommended several measures to reduce these attacks, including enhanced identity verification processes during the hiring phase, real-time deepfake challenges during interview or employment assessment sessions, and training programs designed to teach hiring managers and IT personnel to recognize potential insider threats using AI tools. In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek's coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI. Watch: Blockchain could revolutionize cybersecurity title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
FTSE 100 edges down despite hopes of end to Russia-Ukraine war
The FTSE 100 edged down on Friday on a mixed day for European equities despite new optimism about an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine. The FTSE 100 index closed down 5.04 points, 0.1%, at 9,095.73. The FTSE 250 ended 20.45 points higher, 0.1%, at 21,958.55 while the AIM All-Share finished down 1.05 points, 0.1%, at 762.46. For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3% and the FTSE 250 advanced 1.2%. In Europe, the Cac 40 in Paris rose 0.4%, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt eased back 0.1%. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, the S&P 500 was 0.6% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8%. Bloomberg said Washington and Moscow are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Russia's occupation of territory seized during its military invasion. According to Bloomberg sources, US and Russian officials are working toward an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as early as next week. The US is working to get buy-in from Ukraine and its European allies on the deal, which is far from certain, the report added. Brent oil was quoted at 66.63 dollars a barrel in London on Friday, up from 66.48 dollars late on Thursday. Elsewhere, President Donald Trump named the leader of his White House economic panel to fill a recently vacated seat on the Federal Reserve board, as he seeks to boost his sway over the independent central bank. 'It is my great honour to announce that I have chosen Dr Stephen Miran, current chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, to serve in the just vacated seat on the Federal Reserve Board until January 31 2026,' he announced on his website, Truth Social. 'In the meantime, we will continue to search for a permanent replacement,' Mr Trump added. Dr Miran will finish the term of Adriana Kugler, an appointee of former president Joe Biden who announced her resignation last week. The pound rose to 1.3450 dollars late on Friday afternoon in London, compared to 1.3412 at the equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at 1.1666 dollars. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was at 4.29%, widened from 4.23%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was 4.86%, stretched from 4.80%. Back in London, gambling operators were in the red after the Guardian reported that a rise in gambling levies is thought to be 'near-guaranteed', as part of a package of tax rises in the autumn budget. Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain fell 5.8%, Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment dropped 8.1% and William Hill owner Evoke slid 7.2%. Casino and bingo operator Rank was 4.8% lower. On Thursday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: 'We've already launched a review into gambling taxes. We're taking evidence on that at the moment, and again, we'll set out our policies in the normal way, in our budget later this year.' Further weighing on Flutter Entertainment was a mixed reaction to half-year results, despite the firm raising annual guidance. After the US market close, Flutter said Fan Duel, favourable sporting results and iGaming growth helped push sales and earnings higher in the second quarter, improving prospects for the rest of the year. But Peel Hunt said Flutter's US strength is somewhat diluted by international weakness as it downgraded the stock to 'hold' from 'add'. Noting shares have recovered well from April lows, Peel Hunt said: 'There may be more upside, particularly if management can demonstrate that it can reinvigorate the aggregate performance of the international division. However, for now, we see no reason to push our valuation further.' US gold futures hit a record high after Trump's administration imposed tariffs on imports of one-kilo and 100-ounce bars. On the FTSE 100, GSK rose 0.9% after stating said it will receive an upfront payment of 370 million dollars from CureVac, following a patent settlement involving BioNTech and Pfizer over messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine technology. The deal will see the London-based pharmaceuticals firm collect a 1% royalty on US sales of Pfizer and BioNTech's influenza, Covid-19, and related combination mRNA vaccines from the start of 2025. Of the upfront settlement, 320 million dollars will be paid in cash, with the remainder reflecting changes to GSK's existing licence agreement with CureVac. WPP remained in free fall, down a further 6.2%, leaving it down 56% in 2025 so far. The advertising firm has been dogged by falling sales amid threats from artificial intelligence. On Thursday, it said pre-tax profit declined by 71% in the six months that ended June 30, sinking to £98 million from £338 million. WPP cut its interim dividend per share to 7.5p, half the previous year's 15p payout. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Glencore, up 7.8p at 288.2p, Antofagasta, up 50p at 2,024p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, up 160p at 7,030p, Mondi, up 21.5p at 1,079p and JD Sports Fashion, up 1.5p at 87.7p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were WPP, down 24.3p at 367.5p, Entain, down 58p at 938p, Intercontinental Hotels Group, down 358p at 8,824p, Rightmove, down 30.4p at 788p, and Sage Group, down 37p at 1,161.5p.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Robot dealership opens in China selling over 40 different brands of humanoid bot
A robot dealership which sells over 40 different brands of humanoid bot has opened in China. Robot Mall, which is located in Beijing, opened on Friday (8 August) and is the first of its kind in the country. Shoppers can get their hands on over 100 types of robots, including a coffee machine with arms, a robotic pet dog and a humanoid that plays the guitar. The outlet not only sells robots but also offers services such as maintenance and insurance. 'If robots are to enter thousands of households, relying solely on robotics companies is not enough," Wang Yifan, a store director, told Reuters.
