Today’s Outlook:
• US MARKET : US market is closed due to holiday of Thanksgiving Day.
Online sales in the U.S. on the Thanksgiving holiday are expected to rise 6% compared with last year to reach USD 8.6 billion, data from Salesforce showed on Thursday, suggesting shoppers were lapping up steep discounts from retailers to splurge amid tariff-induced macroeconomic uncertainty. Thanksgiving and the day after, Black Friday, usher in the holiday shopping season, a critical stretch that typically delivers about a third of U.S. retailers’ yearly sales and profits. This year’s kickoff comes amid economic uncertainty and heightened volatility from President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported goods, which have raised costs for both retailers and consumers.
• EUROPEAN MARKET : The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.12% higher at 574.89 at a near two-week high. Major regional bourses were mixed. London’s FTSE 100 was flat a day after the autumn budget was announced. Germany’s DAX was up 0.2%.
European shares ended largely steady on Thursday after three consecutive sessions of gains, driven by rising hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut next month, while Puma jumped on takeover interest and Allfunds Group climbed on an acquisition offer. Meanwhile, progress towards a Russia-Ukraine peace deal also contributed to the upbeat sentiment so far this week.
• ASIAN MARKET : Most Asian stocks advanced on Thursday, tracking an extended recovery in Wall Street as investors bought back into technology shares amid growing conviction the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month.
Chinese shares were buoyed by bets on more stimulus measures from Beijing, amid renewed concerns over a property market crisis in the country. But losses in property stocks, especially China Vanke, limited overall gains in Chinese bourses. China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rose 0.3% on Thursday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.1%.
Broader Asian stocks advanced, with tech-heavy bourses continuing to lead gains on a rebound in the sector. Broader sectors were also cheered by increasing bets that the U.S. Fed will cut interest rates in December. South Korea’s KOSPI was a top performer, adding 1.3% after the Bank of Korea left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected. But the decision was far from unanimous, with BOK policymakers split over cutting rates further.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index added 1.3%, while the TOPIX rose 0.5%, also taking support from tech shares. Sentiment towards Japan was somewhat aided by the U.S. attempting to temper heightened diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing. Japan’s industrial production rose unexpectedly in October, government data showed on Friday, offering a tentative sign that manufacturing activity is stabilising after months of uneven factory output. Industrial production rose 1.4% month-onmonth in October, in contrast with expectations for a 0.5% decline, and slowed from a 2.6% climb in September. Retail sales grew 1.7% year-on-year in October, beating expectations of a 0.8% rise, and picked up from a measly 0.2% gain last month. A rebound in retail sales data signaled that Japanese private consumption, a key driver of the economy, bounced back on expectations of tax cuts and more expansionary policies under the new administration.
• COMMODITIES: Oil prices rose on Thursday as market participants weighed the likelihood that talks to end the war in Ukraine will yield an agreement, with trading volume thin due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. Brent crude futures settled up 21 cents, or 0.2%, at USD 63.34 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 45 cents, or 0.8%, at USD 59.10 a barrel by 1:45 p.m. ET.
U.S. and Ukrainian delegations are to meet this week to work out a formula discussed at talks in Geneva to bring peace and provide security guarantees for Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. The two sides have been trying to narrow gaps over President Donald Trump’s plan to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two. Kyiv remains wary of accepting a deal largely on Russian terms, including territorial concessions.
• INDONESIA : closed in negative territory, pulling back from its record high by – 0.65% to 8,545.87, with the index now attempting to stay above the 8,400–8,450 area as the next support level.
Market rotation has shifted back into conglomerate stocks, including the Hapsoro, Salim-Bakrie groups, as well as the fast internet ecosystem. Investors are advised to continue monitoring each stock closely using individual trailing stops, while paying attention to the index’s levels and response when trading conglomerate-related stocks.
Meanwhile, 24 stocks exited the Special Monitoring Board / FCA today and returned to regular trading, where market expectations are likely to re-ignite trading activity in these names. Several stocks with strong sentiment and catalysts from the FCA board are seen as having the potential to continue their upward momentum.
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