Your support helps us to tell the storySupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference. Asian shares were trading mostly higher Thursday, after a Wall Street rally that followed profit reports from major companies. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained nearly 0.2% in early trading to 38,888.04. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.1% to 8,507.60. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.7% to 2,526.21. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.2% to 20,640.73, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.6% to 3,248.34. In Japan, Honda Motor Co. stock, which jumped the previous day after Japanese media reported its ongoing talks to set up a joint holding company with Japanese rival Nissan Motor Corp. will unravel, pared down some of those gains. Nissan shares, meanwhile, recovered to trade higher. The media reports continued Thursday, but there was no immediate confirmation from either company.On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 317 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.2%.Toymaker Mattel jumped 15.3% after blowing past analysts’ forecasts for profit in the latest quarter. Strength for its Hot Wheels brand helped make up for some softness for Barbie and other dolls. Mattel also gave a forecast for profit this upcoming year that topped analysts’ expectations.Amgen rallied 6.5% and was one of the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500. It reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected, thanks in part to growth for its Repatha medicine, which can lower bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack.They helped offset a 7.3% drop for Alphabet, which sank even though Google’s parent company reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Investors focused instead on slowing growth for its cloud business, whose revenue fell short of forecasts. They also homed in on the $75 billion Alphabet is budgeting for investments this year, roughly $15 billion more than analysts expected, as it remains in the rush to develop artificial-intelligence technology.Advanced Micro Devices fell 6.3% even though the chip company beat prof
Gio. Feb 6th, 2025
