Asian shares rise as China says it's considering U.S. overtures on Trump's tariffs
Specialist Gregg Maloney works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo)
HONG KONG--Asian markets advanced Friday after China's Commerce Ministry said Beijing is evaluating overtures from the U.S. regarding President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Futures and oil prices advanced.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.8% to 22,518.32 while markets in Shanghai were closed for a public holiday. Taiwan's benchmark jumped 2.7%.
An unnamed Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson was cited as saying that Beijing had taken note of various statements by senior U.S. officials indicating a willingness to negotiate over tariffs.
'At the same time, the U.S. has recently taken the initiative to convey information to the Chinese side on a number of occasions through relevant parties, hoping to talk with the Chinese side. In this regard, the Chinese side is making an assessment,' it said.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 picked up 1% to 36,830.69, while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.1% to 2,558.84.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.1%, closing at 8,238.00.
Microsoft and Meta Platforms led Wall Street higher Thursday after the Big Tech companies reported profits for the start of the year that were even bigger than analysts expected.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% for an eighth straight gain to 5,604.14, its longest winning streak since August.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 40,752.96, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.5% to 17,710.74.
Microsoft rallied 7.6% after the software giant said strength in its cloud computing and artificial intelligence businesses drove its overall revenue up 13% from a year earlier.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, also topped analysts' targets for revenue and profit in the latest quarter. It said AI tools helped boost its advertising revenue, and its stock climbed 4.2%.
CVS Health, Carrier Global and a bevy of other companies also joined the stream of better-than-expected profit reports that have helped steady Wall Street over the last week. The S&P 500 is back to within 8.8% of its record set earlier this year, after briefly dropping nearly 20% below the mark.
Still, plenty of uncertainty remains about whether President Donald Trump's trade war will force the economy into a recession.
General Motors slipped 0.4% after it cut its forecast for profit in 2025, for example. It said it's assuming it will feel a hit of $4 billion to $5 billion because of tariffs, and it expects to offset at least 30% of it.
McDonald's fell 1.9% after reporting weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, even though its profit was slightly above forecasts.
McDonald's joined Chipotle and other restaurant chains that have seen customers grow cautious about the economy and inflation.
Consumer surveys show pessimism is shooting higher about where the economy heading. On Thursday, a couple reports about the economy came in mixed, following up on several recent updates that suggested it's weakening.
The first of the reports said more U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than economists had forecast, setting the stage for a more comprehensive report on the job market arriving Friday.
The fear on Wall Street is for a possible worst-case scenario called 'stagflation,' where the economy stagnates yet inflation remains high. The Federal Reserve has no good tools to fix both such problems at the same time. If the Fed were to try to help one problem by adjusting interest rates, it would likely make the other worse.
Treasury yields swiveled following Thursday's economic reports. The yield on the 10-year Treasury initially fell below 4.13% after the worse-than-expected update on joblessness. But it later trimmed its losses and rallied to 4.21%. That's up from 4.17% late Wednesday.
Hopes that Trump may eventually roll back some of his tariffs after reaching trade deals with other countries also helped to support markets.
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 41 cents to $59.65 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, added 36 cents to $62.49 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar slid to 145.23 Japanese yen from 145.40 yen. The euro edged higher, to $1.1319 from $1.1292
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
4 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
‘Golden Share' Served as Solution in Trump's Approval of U.S. Steel Acquisition; Solution Found but Challenges Remain
The Yomiuri Shimbun U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a U.S. Steel Corp. steel plant in Pennsylvania on May 30. With U.S. President Donald Trump having approved a partnership between Nippon Steel Corp. and U.S. Steel Corp., the Japanese company's acquisition of U.S. Steel is expected to be realized. The Trump administration appears to have concluded that by signing a national security agreement with Nippon Steel and acquiring a 'golden share' in U.S. Steel the administration can contain opposition from hard-liners who support an 'America First' policy. Eighteen months after the plan was announced, negotiations between Japan and the United States over the acquisition, a development that escalated into a diplomatic issue, are set to conclude. Change of mind Trump, who views the steel industry as a critical sector directly linked to national security, has referred to U.S. Steel — once the world's largest steel manufacturer — as a 'symbol of America' and had opposed Nippon Steel's bid to acquire it. What prompted Trump to change his mind were Nippon Steel's proposed additional investments and the Japanese company's measures to mitigate security threats. Nippon Steel increased the amount it would invest in the U.S. company after acquiring it from $2.7 billion to $14 billion (about ¥2 trillion). It is also believed that Nippon Steel promised that the majority of U.S. Steel's board members would be U.S. nationals and that the company's production capacity would not be reduced. In response to these proposals, local lawmakers and other interested parties in Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel is headquartered, moved to persuade Trump, apparently by pointing out the economic benefits of the acquisition, such as employment and plant modernization. In addition, key U.S. Cabinet members including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — who also chairs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, whose duties include reviewing foreign acquisitions — and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are said to have urged Trump to approve the acquisition. Trump himself began to judge that Nippon Steel's huge investment would benefit his administration and leaned toward approving the acquisition. Political risk However, the acquisition could give the impression to the American people that a symbolic U.S. company is being sold to a foreign company, which would pose a significant political risk for Trump. Even within his administration, senior officials who support his 'America First' policy position opposed the acquisition. Avoiding backlash from his supporters was also necessary with the 2026 midterm elections in mind. As negotiations between the Japanese and U.S. steel companies progressed behind the scenes, there emerged the idea of issuing a golden share to the U.S. administration to grant it veto power over important management decisions. According to sources, the initial U.S. plan was to approve the acquisition on the condition that a national security agreement was signed, but in the final stages of the negotiations, the U.S. side demanded a golden share. Trump apparently judged that acquiring a golden share in U.S. Steel as a symbol of 'U.S. control' would help persuade opponents of the acquisition and gain the understanding of Trump's supporters. The executive order that Trump signed Friday also made no mention of the fact that U.S. Steel would come under foreign ownership. Intentions of both sides It can be said the golden share proposal led Trump to be able to successfully utilize Nippon Steel's financial strength and technological capabilities without compromising his 'America First' policy stance. Meanwhile, Nippon Steel has concluded that the golden share provides no voting rights and is largely symbolic, so the U.S. administration's influence on management and investment decisions will be limited. 'We will have 100% of the voting rights in U.S. Steel, so management freedom will be maintained,' a senior Nippon Steel executive said. Nippon Steel has previously insisted that 100% ownership of shares is a prerequisite for major investments, and the U.S. government has also refused to compromise over 'U.S. control.' Amid conflicting interests between the two parties, the idea of a golden share ultimately served as a solution, but challenges remain.
4 hours ago
Japan's Marine Product Exports in 2024: Finding New Markets Amid Chinese Ban
Japan Data A total Chinese ban on Japanese seafood through 2024 meant Japan had to develop new markets. China has maintained a total ban on imports of Japanese seafood products since August 24, 2023, when the first treated water from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was discharged into the ocean. Since then, the Japanese government has offered repeated explanations on the safety of the water and proper management of the releases, calling for the lifting of the import ban. On May 30 of this year, it was announced that the Japanese and Chinese governments have agreed to begin procedures aimed at the resumption of seafood exports to China. In 2022, prior to the discharge of treated water, Japan's exports of marine products totaled ¥387.3 billion, with China accounting for ¥87.1 billion or 22.5%, making it the largest export destination. In 2024, when the ban was in effect for the entire year, exports to China plummeted to just ¥6.1 billion, consisting only of non-food marine products such as pearls and koi carp. Despite efforts to cultivate new markets in places including Hong Kong and the United States, total seafood exports for that year were ¥26.4 billion lower than in 2022. Japan's main export marine product is scallops (including fresh, frozen, chilled, and dried). In 2022, exports of scallops reached a record high of ¥91 billion, a 40% increase over the previous year, with exports to China accounting for ¥46.7 billion or 51.3%. Exports of scallops to China only totaled ¥700 million in 2009, but from the following year sales steadily increased. With the boom in Japanese cuisine, fresh scallops in the shell began to be transported by plane to Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities. Chinese businesses also began to import shelled scallops from Japan, shuck them domestically, and then re-export them to the United States, which is the largest consumer of scallops. Scallop exports declined in 2023, clearly reflecting the four months of the ban following the discharge of treated water. The following year, efforts were made to compensate for exports to China dropping to zero by redirecting exports of scallops to the United States. Exports of seafood to the United States also face risk, however, due to the proposed tariffs of President Donald Trump. It is hoped that the resumption of exports to China could help to avoid a further decline in Japanese seafood exports. (Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)
Kyodo News
6 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Panel to propose Japan weigh defense spending above 2% of GDP
KYODO NEWS - 3 minutes ago - 22:01 | All, Japan A Defense Ministry panel is set to propose that the government consider raising defense spending beyond the current goal of 2 percent of gross domestic product, sources close to the matter said Sunday. In a draft proposal to be presented to the government soon, the panel, set up in February 2024, also calls for discussions on deploying submarines equipped with long-range missiles, including nuclear-powered ones, to strengthen the country's deterrence capability, the sources said. It remains unclear how the proposal will be reflected in Japan's defense policy, as questions remain over how to fund a larger budget and whether using nuclear power for defense purposes would conflict with the country's policy of peaceful atomic energy use. The government "should not hesitate to pursue the further strengthening of defense capabilities after the achievement" of the current target to have defense-related spending account for 2 percent of GDP, the panel says in the draft proposal, according to the sources. The panel says submarines that enable Japan to strike from beyond an enemy's missile range would significantly enhance the country's deterrence capability. The government should discuss all possible options for propulsion systems, including nuclear power for the submarines, "without taboos," the panel says. The panel, chaired by Sadayuki Sakakibara, the former chairman of the Japan Business Federation, was set up to discuss how the country's defense capabilities should be bolstered in line with its current defense buildup plan. The plan, known as the Defense Buildup Program, allocates 43 trillion yen ($298 billion) over five years through March 2028, aiming for defense spending to reach 2 percent of GDP in fiscal 2027. Japan's annual defense budget had long been capped at around 1 percent of GDP. The program was adopted in December 2022 as part of three key security documents that marked a major shift in defense policy for a country with a pacifist Constitution, including a plan to acquire strike capabilities that could reach an adversary's territory. "It is necessary to make efforts to achieve the 2 percent target ahead of schedule and compile the next defense strategy and the buildup plan," the panel says in the draft proposal. The panel, made up of experts in security, the economy, and science and technology, also calls for the full-fledged introduction of unmanned defense equipment using cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies, the sources said. The government should consider using unmanned aircraft for continuous day-and-night aerial monitoring, the panel says, following a May incident in which a Chinese military helicopter entered Japanese airspace near the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are claimed by Beijing. Related coverage: Philippines, Japan conduct joint exercise in South China Sea Japan draws up 100 bil. yen policy to attract foreign researchers Japan conveys strong concern over China jet flying close to SDF plane
