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Your daily horoscope: December 30, 2024

  HOROSCOPE IF TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY You don’t need to make any big resolutions on your birthday. With a new moon to inspire you the right opportunities will arrive at just the right time and you will know without a shadow of a doubt what must be done – and you will do it magnificently! ARIES (March 21 - April 20): If you make yourself useful to someone in a position of authority now they will find ways to repay you early in the new year. That may sound a bit mercenary but in this dog eat dog world who you know is as important as what you know. TAURUS (April 21 - May 21): If you want to do something out of the ordinary today, something you know is likely to shock friends and family members, then go for it 100 per cent. It’s a good way to end the old year and an even better way to start the new one. GEMINI (May 22 - June 21): It’s time to look ahead and start thinking about your long-term aims and ambitions. That applies as much to personal matters as it does to your career. Y...
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Asian shares rise after Wall Street gains; Tokyo slips

Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday, following modest gains on Wall Street in a holiday-shortened week. Tokyo was an exception, as investors weighed the prospects of a policy shift by the Bank of Japan.

The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4% to 33,539.62, while other major regional benchmarks rose more than 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 2.7%, led by technology and property shares. The Shanghai Composite index gained 1.4% and South Korea’s Kospi added 1.6%.

U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices were mixed. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 4,781.58 on Wednesday, up 24% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, to close at 37,656.52. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to 15,099.18, outpacing other major indexes with a gain of 44% this year.

Trading was subdued with two trading days left in the year. The S&P 500 is coming of its eight straight winning week and is hovering just below its all-time high set in January of 2022.

Investors are looking ahead to the next year, when the Federal Reserve is expected to start raising interest rates to combat inflation. The Fed has signaled that it will hike rates three times in 2024, but some analysts think it may need to move faster and more aggressively.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is facing pressure to ease its ultra-loose monetary policy and raise its key interest rate from minus 0.1%. The BOJ has been keeping credit cheap to support the economy, but some economists argue that negative rates are hurting banks and consumers. The BOJ is waiting to see what kind of wage gains might come in 2024 as part of its strategy.

In other news, online food delivery company Meituan rose 6.8% in Hong Kong, despite a lawsuit filed against it by a U.S. company for allegedly selling counterfeit versions of Squishmallow plush toys. Ecommerce giant Alibaba gained 2.9%, even as a court in New York refused to dismiss the case. Shares in struggling developer Country Garden Holdings jumped 6.9%, as property stocks rebounded from recent losses.



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