Stocks Rise in Asia, Europe on U.S. Rebound
By wchung | 20 Apr, 2025

Most global markets rebounded modestly Tuesday, following Wall Street higher as financial stocks recovered from a sell-off prompted by the U.S. government’s fraud case against Goldman Sachs.

Many Asian and European benchmarks were up less than 1 percent, while oil regained some ground after a big tumble. The dollar strengthened against the yen and the euro.

Markets worldwide retreated after Goldman Sachs & Co. was charged with fraud for its dealings in subprime mortgage securities in the years before the global financial crisis.

Anxiety about the financial sector’s prospects, however, was tempered somewhat after Citigroup Inc. reported a surprise first-quarter profit Tuesday. Goldman Sachs is set to report its quarterly results later in the day.

John Mar, head of sales trading at Daiwa Capital Markets in Hong Kong, said heavy selling in Asia after the Goldman news may have been overdone.

“What impact does it really have on this part of the world? I view it as an excuse to take profits,” Mar said. “The outlook is still fairly positive — corporate earnings have been good, the economic news is still improving, with the worst behind us in the U.S.”

Europe followed Asia, with benchmarks in Britain, Germany and France adding about 0.5 percent or less. U.S. futures pointed to mildly stronger open on Wall Street Tuesday. S&P futures were up 1.2 points, or 0.1 percent, at 1,196.80.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1 percent to 21,623.38 and South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.8 percent at 1,718.03.

Markets in India, Australia and Taiwan also gained. Thailand’s key stock measure surged more than 3 percent — bouncing back from a sell-off triggered by deadly clashes between protesters and soldiers just over a week earlier.

Bucking the trend, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average turned negative later in the session, shedding 0.1 percent to 10,900.68.

Chinese shares, down nearly 5 percent the day before after government took more action to restrain property prices, fell early in the session before stabilizing to close flat. The main Shanghai index finished virtually unchanged at 2,979.53.

Banking shares rose in Asia, with Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. up 1.1 percent and National Australia Bank ahead by 2.8 percent.

Benchmark crude for May delivery was up $1.03 at $82.48. The contract fell $1.79 on Monday to settle at $81.45.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 92.82 from 92.47 yen late Monday. The euro fell to $1.3475 from $1.3488.

Monday in New York, the Dow rose 73.39, or 0.7 percent, to 11,092.05. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.39, or 0.5 percent, to 1,197.52, while the Nasdaq composite index slipped 1.15, or 0.1 percent, to 2,480.11.

JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, AP Business Writer HONG KONG