PHNOM PENH:​ Let’s have a look at today’s finance. The CSX Index is currently at 505.19 Points up 0.62 Points or 0.12%

 The Daily Exchange Rate: is 4,061 KHR to the USD$

Now a look what else is happing in finance around the world.

STOCK RALLY LOSING PUFF AS ECONOMIC GROWTH DOUBTS GROW

Asia's stock markets eked out their fourth straight session of gains on Wednesday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS)rose 0.5% and is on its longest winning streak since February. Japan's Nikkei (.N225)rose 0.6% and miners led Australian shares (.AXJO) about 0.9% higher.

Gains followed a surge on Wall Street and a slump in the dollar as investors pushed worries about inflation and recession to the back of their minds.

But analysts doubted it could last and both the greenback and futures were steadying in Asia. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4% while FTSE futures were flat and European futures rose 0.2%.

The dollar held firm after an overnight kicking, helped by Australian wage growth missing forecasts, which pulled down the Aussie dollar briefly below $0.70.

The greenback steadied on the euro at $1.0534 and paused a strong bounce for sterling at $1.2480 that followed solid labour data on Tuesday.

WALL STREET ENDS SHARPLY HIGHER, FUELED BY APPLE.

Wall Street finished sharply higher on Tuesday, lifted by Apple, Tesla and other megacap growth stocks after strong retail sales in April eased worries about slowing economic growth.

Ten of the 11 major S&P sector indexes advanced, with financials (.SPSY), materials (.SPLRCM), consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) and technology (.SPLRCT) all gaining more than 2%.

Recently punished shares of Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) gained between 2% and 5.1%, driving the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq higher.

The S&P 500 Banks index (.SPXBK) jumped 3.8%, with Citigroup (C.N) climbing almost 8% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) disclosed a nearly $3 billion investment in the U.S. lender.

Another set of economic data showed industrial production accelerated 1.1% last month, higher than estimates of 0.5%, and faster than a 0.9% advance in March.

Sony readies for metaverse revolution with cross-platform push

Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corp (6758.T) said it is well-positioned to play a leading role in the metaverse, or immersive virtual worlds, which commentators speculate will massively disrupt industries and establish new powerhouses.

The metaverse is a vague term encapsulating the idea that consumers will spend more time in online simulated environments. While the concept is evolving, it has become a buzzword in briefings and a driver of industry dealmaking.

"The metaverse is at the same time a social space and live network space where games, music, movies and anime intersect," Chief Executive Kenichiro Yoshida said at a strategy briefing on Wednesday, pointing to the use of free-to-play battle royale title Fortnite from Epic Games as an online social space.

Sony's game, music and movie units contributed two-thirds of operating income in the year ended March, underscoring the group's transformation from consumer electronics maker into a metaverse-ready entertainment juggernaut under Yoshida and predecessor Kazuo Hirai.

The firm is a gaming gatekeeper with its PlayStation 5 console, however observers point to the risk presented by the growth of cross-platform, cloud-based titles and their potential to reduce the influence of proprietary platforms.

Sony has been adjusting its approach, enabling cross-play in Fortnite in 2018. This week, Epic said in-game "V-Bucks" currency purchased on PlayStation would be usable on other platforms.

"PlayStation has played a huge role in the social gaming revolution that's nurturing the growth of the metaverse as a new entertainment medium," Epic's CEO Tim Sweeney said on Twitter.

Sony has also taken steps to expand beyond its focus on single-player titles such as "Spider-Man: Miles Morales", with a deal announced in January to buy Bungie, the developer of online multi-player shooter "Destiny".

"We believe it will be a catalyst to enhance our live service game capabilities... (It) represents a major step forward in becoming multi-platform," Yoshida said.

Sony created a new lifestyle in 1979 with the launch of the Walkman, Yoshida said.

"We are aiming to turn the mobility space into a new entertainment space... We believe mobility will be the next megatrend," he said.