Market Update 10/03/2025

U.S. Market:

Wall Street experienced a turbulent week, with the stock market showing volatility for most of Friday, but ultimately closing on a positive note. The Nasdaq rose by 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.6%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.5%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose by 2 basis points to 4.30%. Crude oil prices climbed by 1.2% to $70.30 per barrel.

Asian Markets:

Asian markets closed lower this week. Japan’s Nikkei index dropped by 2.2%, while China’s Hang Seng and Shenzhen indices saw smaller declines of 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively. Australia’s ASX 200 index performed poorly, falling by 1.8%, mainly dragged down by the real estate and information technology sectors, both of which declined by 3%.

European Markets:

European markets showed a downward trend from the start of the day. The Stoxx 50 index fell by 0.9%, the FTSE 100 index dropped by 0.5%, the CAC index declined by 1%, and the DAX index fell by 1.6%. By the close, major European markets were all in the red, with the DAX index down by 1.7%, the CAC index dropping nearly 1%, and the FTSE index performing slightly better, with only a modest decline.

Foreign Exchange Market:

The Australian dollar traded in the 0.62825/0.6337 range, closing at 0.6309 on the weekend. During the Asian session, it briefly touched the 0.6337 high before falling back to 0.6301. In the New York session, it hit a new low of 0.62825 but then rebounded and stabilized around 0.6310. The euro briefly rose to a high of 1.08885 after U.S. employment data was released, but then retreated to 1.0850. The USD/JPY rose to 147.64 during the European session, then fell below 147.00 after U.S. employment data, before rebounding. It surged at the end of the New York session, reaching a high of 148.20.

Economic Data and Policy Updates:

The Eurozone’s final Q4 GDP grew by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter (1.2% year-on-year), slightly higher than the expected 0.1% quarter-on-quarter growth (0.9% year-on-year).

In the U.S., February nonfarm payrolls increased by 151,000, higher than the revised down figure of 142,000, but slightly below the expected 160,000. The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose by 0.1 percentage points to 4.1%. The labor force participation rate unexpectedly declined by 0.2 percentage points to 62.4%.

Key News:

U.S. President Trump sent a letter to Iran seeking to initiate negotiations and posted on social media to push for a new nuclear deal with Iran. Trump acknowledged the suspension of tariffs on Mexico and Canada, hinting that reciprocal tariffs could be imposed on Canada as early as that day or Monday.