Asian stock markets diverge in the session of October 31

Asian stock markets were mixed on October 31, with declines in China and gains in Japan and South Korea, following better-than-expected earnings reports from US tech giants Apple and Amazon.

Investors monitor stock indexes in Jiangsu province, China. Photo: THX/TTXVN

Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed up 2.1% at 52,411.34 points. After volatile trading, South Korea's Kospi index rose 20.61 points, or 0.5%, to 4,107.5 points. In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.1% to 25,986.71 points, while Shanghai's Shanghai Composite index fell 0.8% to 3,954.79 points.

Apple reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue for fiscal 2024 (ended September 27), helped by iPhone and services revenue. Amazon also reported better-than-expected earnings, helped by increased demand for its cloud computing services.

Investor confidence in artificial intelligence has fueled a global stock market rally this week, propelling California-based chip designer Nvidia to become the first company to reach a $5 trillion valuation. The optimism was further fueled by a thaw in the U.S.-China trade war, with leaders meeting on Oct. 30 agreeing to back off on statements that have disrupted global supply chains and manufacturing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump reached several important agreements at their meeting on October 30, as observers expected. The US agreed to cut some tariffs on Chinese goods, while China pledged to maintain supplies of essential rare earths. The two leaders have yet to sign a comprehensive trade deal, and experts say the meeting amounts to a temporary truce for a year between the world's two leading economies .

But the market's rally showed signs of slowing on October 30 as investors digested comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell a day earlier, which cast doubt on the likelihood of another rate cut in December 2025.

Regarding the situation in the world's second largest economy, China, official data released on October 31 showed challenges, as factory production fell in October 2025, the seventh consecutive month.

In the domestic market, at the end of the session on October 31, the VN-Index decreased by 29.92 points, or 1.79%, to 1,639.65 points. The HNX-Index decreased by 1.11 points, or 0.42%, to 265.85 points.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thi-truong-tien-te/cac-thi-truong-chung-khoan-chau-a-phan-hoa-trong-phien-3110-20251031161627232.htm