2 hours ago
European stocks open mixed
European stocks had a cautious start on Monday, with the regional Stoxx 600 index up 0.07% by 8:40 a.m. in London after opening near flat.
Germany’s DAX, Britain’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 all rose about 0.25%.
See chart…
STOXX 600 index.
4 hours ago
Taiwan’s new president takes office, calls on China to end political and military threats
Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-de, was sworn in on Monday, replacing his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, after securing victory in the January presidential election that ushered in an unprecedented third presidential term for the Democratic Progressive Party.
Hsiao Bi-Kim (52), a former de facto Taiwanese ambassador to the United States, was also sworn in as vice president.
In his inaugural address, Lai called on China to end its political and military threats against Taiwan, adding that he hoped China would “face up to the reality of the Republic of China’s existence” and respect the choices of the Taiwanese people.
“Let us pursue peace and mutual prosperity together,” he said, calling on China to choose “dialogue over confrontation and exchange over containment.”
— Lim Hui Jie, Sumati Bala
7 hours ago
Chinese real estate stocks fall after Friday’s gains
Shares of Chinese real estate developers in Hong Kong fell on Monday after closing higher last week.
The People’s Bank of China on Monday kept the five-year loan prime rate unchanged at 3.95%. It serves as an important reference for real estate mortgages.
The move comes as real estate stocks soared on Friday after the world’s second-largest economy announced measures to boost the real estate market, including cutting payments and removing minimum mortgage interest rate caps.
Logan Group and Siffy Holdings led Monday’s declines, dropping 6.02% and 5.56%, respectively. Longfor Group fell 4.82%, and China Vanke fell about 2%. The Hang Seng Mainland Real Estate Index fell 1.68%.
8 hours ago
China keeps loan prime rate unchanged
China’s central bank governor said there was room to further reduce banks’ reserve requirements and vowed to use monetary policy to support consumer prices.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The People’s Bank of China kept the one-year and five-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3.45% and 3.95%, respectively.
The one-year LPR is considered the fixed rate for most household and business loans, while the five-year rate is the benchmark for most property mortgages.
The decision was in line with a Reuters poll that predicted both interest rates would remain unchanged.
China on Friday announced measures to boost its debt-laden real estate market.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
11 hours ago
This week’s notable earnings
Here are the earnings reports to watch this week:
— Lisa Kailai Han, Robert Hamm
11 hours ago
Location of key indicators
The key averages for the month before Monday’s trading are:
— Lisa Kailai Han
12 hours ago
