Asia shares climb after China and the U.S. say they have a framework for seeking a trade deal

Asahi Shimbun

a day ago

Pedestrians pass by an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm in Tokyo on June 11. (AP Photo)
Asian shares mostly rose Wednesday after China and the U.S. said they had reached agreement on a framework for following up on the trade truce reached last month in Geneva.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 0.5% in morning trading to 38,385.37. Data from the Bank of Japan data showed wholesale inflation slowed in May, meaning there might be less pressure for the central bank to raise interest rates in its next policy board meeting.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.8% to 24,364.77, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5% to 3,402.72.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.3% to 8,612.40. South Korea's Kospi added 0.6% to 2,889.88.
Tuesday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 6,038.81 as the trade talks between the world's two largest economies carried into a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 42,866.87, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6% to 19,714.99.
Stocks have roared higher since dropping roughly 20% below their record two months ago, when President Donald Trump shocked financial markets with his announcement of tariffs that were so stiff that they raised worries about a possible recession. Much of the rally has been due to hopes that Trump would lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with countries around the world, and the S&P 500 is back within 1.7% of its record set in February.
Analysts said that after two days of discussion in London, the late-night agreement reached appeared to be a consensus on what was already agreed upon before.
'So what did 48 hours of talks actually produce? Apparently, a reaffirmation to eventually do what they had already said they would do. If markets were expecting substance, they got process instead,' said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Tuesday evening in London that talks with China were going 'really, really well.' Both the United States and China have put many of their tariffs announced against each other on pause as talks continue.
Even though many tariffs are on hold for the moment, uncertainty over what is to come is still affecting companies and their ability to make profits.
Designer Brands, the company behind the DSW shoe store chain, became the latest U.S. company to yank its financial forecasts for 2025 because of 'uncertainty stemming primarily from global trade policies.'
The company, which also owns the Keds, Jessica Simpson and other shoe brands, reported a larger loss for the start of the year than analysts were expecting, and its revenue also fell short of forecasts. CEO Doug Howe pointed to 'persistent instability and pressure on consumer discretionary' spending, and the company's stock tumbled 18.2%.
The uncertainty is moving in both directions, to be sure. A survey released Tuesday of optimism among small U.S. businesses improved a bit in May.
'While the economy will continue to stumble along until the major sources of uncertainty are resolved, owners reported more positive expectations on business conditions and sales growth,' according to Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Business.
Tesla helped to make up for such losses by rising 5.7%. The electric vehicle company has been recovering since tumbling last week as Elon Musk's relationship with Trump imploded. That raised fear about possible retaliation by the U.S. government against Tesla.
Shares that trade in the United States of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 2.6% after the company known as TSMC said its revenue in May jumped nearly 40% from the year earlier.
In other dealings early Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.48% from 4.47% late Tuesday.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil slipped 12 cents to $64.86 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 15 cents to $66.72 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 144.94 Japanese yen from 144.84 yen. The euro cost $1.1414, down from $1.1425.