S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico MarketThe Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.14% to close at 49,865 on Wednesday, recouping losses from earlier in the week and following gains on Wall Street amid expectations of further US Federal Reserve rate cuts. Risk appetite also improved as investors weighed the potential for a year-end rally in global equities. At home, caution persisted as markets assessed speculation that the Bank of Japan could raise rates this month. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank would consider the pros and cons of a hike and act “as appropriate.” Technology stocks led the advance, with strong gains from SoftBank Group (6.4%), Advantest (5.3%), Fujikura (2.6%), Tokyo Electron (4.7%) and Lasertec (7.3%). In contrast, financial and consumer stocks mostly retreated, including Mitsubishi UFJ (-2.1%), Sumitomo Mitsui (-2.1%) and Toyota Motor (-1.3%).
