Soft US inflation boosts Asia markets
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at fresh highs Tuesday after US data showed a tamer-than-feared impact on prices from President Donald Trump's tariff blitz.
That boosted hopes among some investors that the US Federal Reserve and its embattled chief Jerome Powell will cut interest rates next month.
"Jerome 'Too Late' Powell must NOW lower the rate," Trump said on Truth Social, while also threatening a "major lawsuit" over renovations to Fed buildings.
"Stocks... took the (inflation) number as confirmation that September is shaping up to be the long-anticipated 'insurance cut' in an economy still treading water above the break-even line," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
Katy Stoves, investment manager at Mattioli Woods, warned however: "This gentle cooling of the economy will certainly not justify a cut of interest rates to one percent as President Donald Trump is calling for."
Early afternoon, the Nikkei 225 index was at 43,359.03, up 1.5 percent, having already hit a new intraday record high of 42,999.71 the previous day.
Oil prices edged lower after OPEC raised its demand forecast for 2026, signalling it expected stronger global activity next year.
Investor focus was also on a summit in Alaska on Friday between Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the three-year-old Ukraine war.
In corporate news, AI firm Perplexity offered Google $34.5 billion for its Chrome web browser, which it may have to sell as part of antitrust proceedings.
Intel rose 5.5 percent on Wall Street after CEO Lip-Bu Tan met with Trump, who praised the executive after previously calling for him to step down.
- Key figures at around 0300 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.5 percent at 43,359.03
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.4 percent at 25,234.90
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,683.79
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1684 from $1.1677 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3505 from $1.3501
Dollar/yen: UP at 148.04 yen from 147.77 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.52 pence from 86.45 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $66.01 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $63.02 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 44,458.61 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,147.81 (close)
bur-stu/cwl
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
DeepSeek's launch of new AI model delayed by Huawei chip issues, FT reports
(Reuters) -Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek has delayed the release of its new model after failing to train it using Huawei's chips, highlighting the limits of Beijing's push to replace U.S. technology, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Free speech activist groups slam ‘excessive force' by police against plantation workers protesting outside Parliament
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 — Civil groups Article 19 and the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) have today condemned what they described as excessive force by police against peaceful protesters outside Parliament yesterday. In a joint statement, the groups urged the police against obstructing the right to freedom of assembly and to instead facilitate the public's right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution. 'Parliament is not a prohibited location for peaceful assemblies and the police must allow such gatherings to take place without unwarranted interference,' said Nalini Elumalai, Senior Malaysia Programme Officer of human rights group Article 19. Nalini had accused authorities of using unnecessary force to block individuals who were seeking to reach their representatives, to call for a decent housing scheme law for the plantation workers. 'According to international human rights standards, peaceful assemblies are permitted in public spaces and should be within sight and sound of their intended audience, particularly lawmakers, to effectively convey their messages. 'Any restrictions must meet the three part-test of legality, legitimate aim, proportionality and necessity,' she added. The clashes occurred yesterday when police allegedly attempted to physically block plantation workers and activists from marching to Parliament to call for new legislation protecting workers from forced evictions. Hundreds of plantation workers had gathered at Taman Tugu before marching to Parliament to submit a memorandum urging laws to require alternative housing for workers if estates are repurposed. Although the memorandum was handed to both government and opposition MPs, protesters were initially met with a police blockade that caused a scuffle, during which Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) deputy chairperson S. Arutchelvan fell to the ground. Police later claimed an officer was injured by protesters, and said Arutchelvan is being investigated under Section 353 of the Penal Code for allegedly using criminal force to deter a public servant. 'The right to peaceful assembly is a cornerstone of any functioning democracy. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim came to power on a promise of institutional and democratic transformation,' said CIJ executive director Wathshlah Naidu. '[This] incident highlights the urgent need to accelerate the pace of these commitments, which must include not only a review of laws that restrict freedom of expression, but also ensure that law enforcement officers are adequately trained to respect and protect peaceful protesters.'
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Pay-For-Play Chips Deal Generates Alarm and Optimism
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump's controversial plan to take a cut of revenue from chip sales to China is leading to concerns that the US government will find new ways to start charging companies for a range of business activities with other countries. Experts and people familiar with the matter said the surprise deal, in which Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. agreed to pay 15% of their revenues from Chinese AI chip sales to the US, potentially provides a path to enter the Chinese market despite severe export controls, tariffs and other trade barriers. The US-Canadian Road Safety Gap Is Getting Wider Sunseeking Germans Face Swiss Backlash Over Alpine Holiday Congestion To Head Off Severe Storm Surges, Nova Scotia Invests in 'Living Shorelines' Five Years After Black Lives Matter, Brussels' Colonial Statues Remain For Homeless Cyclists, Bikes Bring an Escape From the Streets The question that companies must now confront is whether the risk is worth taking. People familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, said companies are struggling to figure out what the president's order means for their future, especially given the unpredictable nature of Trump's decision-making. 'This is truly bizarre and unusual, and the troubling thing — beyond the individual instances of AMD and Nvidia — is the possibility that this will be expanded,' said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. 'Everything is now 'national security,' according to the new definition, which means it's all subject to export licenses and then they give you a license based on your contribution.' There are concerns that US trade agencies could begin charging fees to companies every time there's a meeting to discuss tariffs, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, which issues export licenses, wasn't consulted about the revenue deal, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations. Trump administration officials defend the idea as a smart way to generate revenue for the US government and suggest it will extend well beyond the chips sector. 'I think we could see it in other industries over time,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday. 'I think right now this is unique, but now that we have the model and the beta tests, why not expand it?' Bessent defended the deal and rejected any national-security concerns around the decision to sell Nvidia's H20 chip to China — something that had been earlier barred for fear of giving China a boost in the artificial-intelligence race. 'There are no national security concerns here,' Bessent said. 'We would not sell any of the advanced chips. So, the H20, I don't know whether you'd say they're four, five, six levels down the chips stack.' Either way, the deal highlights how Trump has pushed to open a wave of new revenue streams including by taking ownership shares of companies or extracting higher fees to live or work in the US. The US is weighing sales of a so-called 'gold card' residency permit, it won a 'golden share' to have direct say over corporate actions by United States Steel Corp., and it's secured investment pledges and potential revenue-sharing in country-level tariff talks. That's aside from the barrage of product tariffs that have at times left massive dislocations in globally traded markets. The matter further surprised China hawks in Congress, who have been unimpressed by the administration's reassurances. Rep. John Moolenaar, the Michigan Republican who chairs the US House Select Committee on China, questioned the legal basis for the move and suggested it does an end-run around controls put in place to limit the sale of sensitive technology to US adversaries. 'Export controls are a front-line defense in protecting our national security, and we should not set a precedent that incentivizes the government to grant licenses to sell China technology that will enhance its AI capabilities,' he said. It also raises questions about where the administration will steer the revenue. Trump has mused about issuing tariff rebate checks — though he has yet to seriously pursue the idea — while at other times he's said it would go toward narrowing the large budget deficit. The administration had debated launching a sovereign wealth fund before shelving those plans for now. It's too soon to say whether the administration will seek to revive the fund and steer revenue there, one official familiar with deliberations said. 'Trump's aides argue that these measures will strengthen America's AI leadership by maximizing its global influence and market share,' Hal Brands, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a former Pentagon official, wrote in Bloomberg Opinion. 'Yet it is also possible that they will simply eat into America's innovation advantage.' --With assistance from Mackenzie Hawkins and Derek Wallbank. (Updates with details of consultation process in fifth paragraph.) Americans Are Getting Priced Out of Homeownership at Record Rates Dubai's Housing Boom Is Stoking Fears of Another Crash Bessent on Tariffs, Deficits and Embracing Trump's Economic Plan Why It's Actually a Good Time to Buy a House, According to a Zillow Economist The Electric Pickup Truck Boom Turned Into a Big Bust ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
