Asian shares post modest gain, dollar holds drop

The Star

03-06-2025

NEW YORK: Asian shares edged up at the open as investors awaited news on trade negotiations between the US and China before taking on risky bets.
A regional stock index climbed 0.4 per cent while equity-index futures for the US dipped 0.2 per cent. Shares in mainland China fluctuated at the open on their return from a holiday Monday (June 2). Hong Kong shares advanced, erasing yesterday's losses. Treasuries were steady in Asian trading on Tuesday and the dollar was little changed after hitting its lowest since 2023 in the last session. Oil extended its gains.
Investors are keeping a close eye on the latest twists in the trade war after a slew of headlines Monday. The main focus is whether US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping will hold a conversation to dial down the tensions, after the two countries accused each other of violating a trade agreement reached in May. China hasn't confirmed any decision for talks between the two presidents even as the US pushes for a dialogue.
"We're clearly seeing a lot of volatility and investors want more visibility,' Massimiliano Bondurri, founder and chief executive officer of SGMC Capital in Singapore, said on Bloomberg TV. "It's normal that markets are actually going to be flip-flopping. You're going to see actually even intraday swings. Could this be something that stays with us? Yes, it could.'
Trump has long said that direct talks with Xi were the only way to resolve differences between the nations, but the Chinese leader has been reluctant to get on the phone with his American counterpart - preferring that advisers negotiate key issues. The last known conversation between Trump and Xi took place in January before the US president's inauguration.
Top Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett signaled Sunday the White House was anticipating a call this week with the Chinese leader.
Meanwhile, Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is considering returning to the US for another round of trade negotiations this week as expectations mount for a deal as early as this month.
"We continue to expect market volatility as investors digest fresh tariff headlines and incoming US economic data,' said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management. "Fiscal worries remain, and geopolitical tensions are heating up.'
Trump worked the phones Monday and took to social media to try to sway Republican holdouts on his multi-trillion dollar tax bill, encountering conflicting demands from GOP senators even as he urged them to move swiftly.
The legislation, which last month passed the House by one vote, faces opposition from both moderates and ultra-conservatives in the Senate, where Trump can afford to lose no more than three votes.
In Japan, attention will once again shift to a debt market sale Tuesday that may ramp up pressure on the government to adjust its borrowing plans and calm investor nerves.
Hot on the heels of auctions last month that exposed a lack of demand, the finance ministry will sell ¥2.6 trillion (US$18 billion) of ten-year notes.
In geopolitics, Russia and Ukraine wrapped up a second round of talks in Istanbul that failed to bring the two sides closer to ending the war, but laid the groundwork for a new exchange of prisoners. - Bloomberg