Japanese shares sluggish as trade impasse, election weigh on sentiment
The Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.2% as of the midday break, poised for a third straight session of decline. The broader Topix was flat.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said Japan would continue tariff negotiations with the U.S. after U.S. PresidentDonald Trump last week raised tariffs on Japanese imports to 25% starting August 1. However, prospects of Ishiba's ruling coalition retaining its majority in the upper house after a vote on July 20 are dimming.
'If the ruling party were to lose its majority in the upper house, there is a risk that trade negotiations with the U.S. will be delayed, and market concerns about fiscal expansion will increase,' said Nomura strategist Fumika Shimizu.
Japan's Nikkei inches higher as chip stocks track Wall Street's record finish
'I think there is a great possibility that the Japanese stock market will be affected by these developments.'
There were 115 advancers on the Nikkei index against 108 decliners. The largest losers by percentage were videogame maker Nexon, down 3.6%, followed by chip-industry supplier Lasertec Corp, which lost 3.5%.
Nissan Motor led gainers on the Nikkei with a 3% advance, recovering slightly from a plunge last week. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries followed with a 2.7% gain.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
18 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Paramount-Skydance merger approved
The USD8.4 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media won approval from US regulators on Thursday, clearing the way for a sale that evolved into a clash over press freedom in the era of President Donald Trump. As reported by Reuters, the deal will put well-known entertainment properties including the CBS broadcast television network, Paramount Pictures, and the Nickelodeon cable channel under the ownership of tech scion David Ellison. Paramount this month paid USD16 million in a controversial move to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against the company and CBS News, sparking accusations it effectively had paid for approval of the merger. The Federal Communications Commission approved the deal in a partisan 2-1 vote that allows the transfer of CBS television stations. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, an appointee of Republican Trump, said the agency had received assurances from the incoming owners that they were committed to unbiased journalism. Democrat Anna Gomez, the FCC's dissenter, accused Paramount of "cowardly capitulation" to the Trump administration. She also said the FCC was imposing "never-before-seen controls over newsroom decisions." CBS News was one of several news organisations Trump attacked for what he viewed as unfavorable coverage. Paramount paid Trump to end a lawsuit he filed over CBS' editing of a 60 Minutes interview with his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris. Trump, who often accuses media outlets of liberal bias and "fake news," argued that the editing was designed to make Harris look good. First Amendment lawyers said the suit was without merit. Carr has said the agency's review of the proposed merger was not connected to the lawsuit. Senators Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico said the merger "reeks of the worst form of corruption," coming on the heels of Paramount's settlement.
Express Tribune
7 hours ago
- Express Tribune
US, China to resume tariff talks in effort to extend truce
US and Chinese flags and a "tariffs" label are seen in this illustration created on April 10, 2025. Photo: Reuters Listen to article Senior US and Chinese negotiators meet in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of the countries' trade war, aiming to extend a truce keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal in June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from duties exceeding 100%. The Stockholm talks, led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, take place a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets Trump at his golf course in Scotland to try to clinch a deal that would likely see a 15% baseline tariff on most EU goods. Also Read: Israel announces daily pauses in Gaza fighting as aid airdrops begin Trade analysts on both sides of the Pacific say the discussions in the Swedish capital are unlikely to produce any breakthroughs but could prevent further escalation and help create conditions for Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet later this year. Previous US-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing US and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States. So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include US complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that US national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. "Stockholm will be the first meaningful round of US-China trade talks," said Bo Zhengyuan, Shanghai-based partner at China consultancy firm Plenum. Trump has been successful in pressuring some other trading partners, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, into deals accepting higher US tariffs of 15% to 20%. He said there was a 50-50 chance that the US and the 27-member European Union could also reach a framework trade pact, adding that Brussels wanted to "make a deal very badly". Read: Six killed, scores injured in Indian temple stampede Two of Trump's top trade officials, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, will attend the Scotland talks and then travel to Stockholm. Analysts say the US-China negotiations are far more complex and will require more time. China's grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on US industries. Trump-Xi meeting? In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October. Trump has said he will decide soon whether to visit China in a landmark trip to address trade and security tensions. A new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail any plans for a meeting with Xi. "The Stockholm meeting is an opportunity to start laying the groundwork for a Trump visit to China," said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Bessent has already said he wants to work out an extension of the August 12 deadline to prevent tariffs snapping back to 145% on the US side and 125% on the Chinese side. Still, China will likely request a reduction of multi-layered US tariffs totaling 55% on most goods and further easing of US high-tech export controls, analysts said. Beijing has argued that such purchases would help reduce the US trade deficit with China, which reached $295.5 billion in 2024. Also Read: Drone debris disrupts trains, suspends flights in Volgograd China is currently facing a 20% tariff related to the US fentanyl crisis, a 10% reciprocal tariff, and 25% duties on most industrial goods imposed during Trump's first term. Bessent has also said he would discuss with He the need for China to rebalance its economy away from exports toward domestic consumer demand. The shift would require China to put an end to a protracted property crisis and boost social safety nets to encourage household spending. Michael Froman, a former US trade representative during Barack Obama's administration, said such a shift has been a goal of US policymakers for two decades. "Can we effectively use tariffs to get China to fundamentally change their economic strategy? That remains to be seen," said Froman, now president of the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank.
Express Tribune
13 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Trump accuses Kamala Harris of paying Beyoncé and Oprah for illegal campaign endorsements
President Donald Trump has accused Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democrats of violating campaign finance laws by allegedly paying celebrities for political endorsements during the 2024 presidential election. In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that Harris spent millions to secure public backing from prominent figures, including singer Beyoncé, TV host Oprah Winfrey, and civil rights activist Al Sharpton. He asserted that these endorsements were financially motivated rather than genuine. He went on to describe the alleged payments as 'totally illegal' and demanded legal action. 'Kamala and all of those who received endorsement money BROKE THE LAW. They should all be prosecuted,' Trump wrote. He warned that if such practices became normalized, public outrage would be inevitable. Trump's latest comments come as he faces criticism over his handling of case files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier at the center of multiple investigations. He has dismissed the scrutiny as politically driven and described the ongoing probe as a 'con job' by Democrats to distract from his presidency. According to The Hill, Trump has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue the release of grand jury testimonies involving Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in response to rising public pressure for transparency—including from his own MAGA supporters. The president made the statements while visiting Scotland, where he played golf at his Turnberry resort alongside U.S. Ambassador Warren Stephens and his son Eric Trump. His visit triggered protests nationwide, with hundreds gathering outside the U.S. Consulate in Edinburgh to voice their opposition. Demonstrators criticized both Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over a new U.S.-U.K. trade agreement. Trump has continued to defend his administration's performance, calling the past six months 'the BEST in Presidential history.'
