Asian stocks rise as China-US trade talks raise hopes; investors watch for breakthrough on tariffs; oil edges up
Asian stocks mostly rose on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to ongoing China-US trade talks that could help ease recession fears. A second day of negotiations was set after US and Chinese officials met in London to discuss key trade issues, with hopes of reaching a deal to roll back high tariffs.
Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1% to 38,473.97, while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.9% to 2,881.40.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 0.2% to 24,242.03, and Shanghai's Composite index gained 0.1% to 3,403.51.
Taiwan's Taiex recorded a 2% increase. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia moved up 0.7% to 8,578.50.
Earlier n Monday, the S&P 500 saw a modest 0.1% increase to 6,005.88, positioning it within 2.3% of its February peak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a minimal decline of 1 point to 42,761.76, whilst the Nasdaq composite increased 0.3% to 19,591.24.
The S&P 500's recovery from its 20% decline two months ago has been supported by expectations that President Donald Trump will reduce tariffs following trade agreements with various nations.
The index has recovered beyond its position prior to Trump's comprehensive tariff announcement in April on what he termed "Liberation Day."
Tesla showed signs of recovery following recent losses. After experiencing volatility earlier in the day, the electric vehicle manufacturer's shares rose 4.6% on Monday, following significant declines last week amid deteriorating relations between Musk and Trump.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025
Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List
Undo
This strained relationship could potentially affect Musk's other ventures with government contracts, including SpaceX. Notably, competitor Rocket Lab saw a 2.5% increase.
Early Tuesday trading saw US benchmark crude oil increase by 31 cents to $65.60 per barrel, whilst Brent crude rose similarly to $67.35. The dollar strengthened to 144.93 Japanese yen from 144.61 yen, and the euro decreased to $1.1399 from $1.1421.
The 10-year Treasury yield decreased to 4.48% from 4.51% following Friday's close, influenced by a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey indicating reduced consumer inflation expectations for May.
Economists anticipate Wednesday's report to show that inflation rose to 2.5% last month, up from 2.3%. The Federal Reserve has kept its key interest rate unchanged as it monitors the impact of Trump's tariffs—both on inflation and overall economic growth.
If inflation expectations among US households continue to rise, it could trigger spending behavior that fuels a cycle of even higher inflation.
Market snapshot at 0230 GMT
Tokyo (Nikkei 225): Up 1.0% at 38,473.97
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index): Up 0.4% at 24,275.16
Shanghai (Composite Index): Up 0.2% at 3,405.64
New York (Dow Jones): Flat at 42,761.76
London (FTSE 100): Down 0.1% at 8,832.28
Stay informed with the latest
business
news, updates on
bank holidays
and
public holidays
.
AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
21 minutes ago
- Economic Times
China, Hong Kong stocks fall as initial Sino-US trade optimism wanes
Stocks in China and Hong Kong traded lower on Thursday, led by declines in the tech sector, as markets struggled to sustain the positive momentum from the Sino-U.S. trade talks that lacked concrete details. ADVERTISEMENT China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index closed about 0.1% lower after wavering through the day, slipping from the three-week high touched on Wednesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 1.4% at close to pull back from the nearly three-month high hit in the previous session. Tech shares led losses in onshore and offshore markets. The CSI Semiconductor Index shed 1.5%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 2.2%. Among major losers, chipmaker SMIC fell 2% to a one-week low. Alibaba weakened 3.2% and EV-maker Xpeng slid 6.7%. The CSI Rare Earth Index closed flat after slipping nearly 1% in the morning session and continued to hover near its seven-month high. ADVERTISEMENT A trade truce between the world's two biggest economies was back on track, U.S President Donald Trump said, a day after negotiators from Washington and Beijing agreed on a framework to ease bilateral retaliatory tariffs. Under the agreement, Beijing will lift export curbs on rare earth minerals and the U.S. will restore Chinese students' access to its universities, Trump said on Truth Social. ADVERTISEMENT Yet the terms remain subject to final approvals, with details notably absent. The 55% tariffs on Chinese imports will also stay, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. "We still don't know if what Trump says will actually happen. It's disappointing that the tariffs rates were not dialled down at all and tech curbs on China were not even mentioned," said Jason Chan, senior investment strategist at Bank of East Asia, Hong Kong. ADVERTISEMENT The talks left key issues, like chip exports, unaddressed, leaving room for conflicts in the future, and no one knows for how long the current truce will last, he added. Chinese markets have been struggling to recover from trade shocks for the past two months after Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2 that threatened the global trade system. ADVERTISEMENT The CSI 300 Index has barely eked out any gains since then, while the Hang Seng Index has climbed 3.5%, but the two are underperforming the nearly 10% bounce in the MSCI World Index . The market is less sensitive to trade talks and investors are shifting focus to economic fundamentals, Wang Zhuo, partner at Zhuozhu Investment, said. "The key for China now is to bolster manufacturers' confidence and break the deflationary trend." (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
Mint
28 minutes ago
- Mint
Iran Warns of Retaliation to UN Watchdog's Nuclear Censure
(Bloomberg) -- Iran warned it will retaliate following a decision by the United Nations atomic watchdog to censure the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program, deepening a crisis that's also drawn in the US and Israel. The International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors approved a resolution in Vienna on Thursday that deemed Iran in non-compliance of its international obligations, setting up a potential referral to the UN Security Council for a renewal of sanctions. Iran will 'consider appropriate responses, including initiating the process of withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,' Iran's ambassador to UN, Saeid Iravani, said ahead of the vote, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. The breakdown in nuclear diplomacy comes alongside a corresponding rise in regional tensions. The US ordered some staff to depart its embassy in Baghdad and authorized families of military service members to leave the region, officials said, while US President Donald Trump said he's growing less confident about the prospects for a successful deal to impose new limits on Iran's nuclear program. Iran warned it could hit US military assets in the Middle East if the talks collapse and the Islamic Republic is attacked. Oil prices rose the most since October on the mounting tensions, before paring gains on Thursday. Negotiations between Iran and the Trump administration have stalled over whether or not Tehran's engineers will retain their right to enrich uranium. The US and Israel have publicly insisted Iran can't possess that key technology — critical for producing the fuel needed for nuclear reactors and bombs. 'A comprehensive deal is likely contingent on the US allowing Iran to retain some domestic enrichment capacity,' analysts at the Eurasia Group wrote in a note this week. Iran has previously offered to end its ramp up of highly-enriched uranium in exchange for sanctions relief, after producing a record volume over the last quarter. That material could quickly be turned into the fuel for the equivalent of 10 bombs, should Iran's leadership take the political decision pursue weapons. The IAEA's vote was highly divided, with 19 in favor — led by the US and European nations — and three against, including China and Russia. There were 11 abstentions. Russian diplomats, who have been asked by the Trump administration to facilitate a diplomatic solution with Iran, cautioned that passing the IAEA vote of censure carries significant risks. 'The adoption of the presented resolution will significantly reduce the chances' of a diplomatic resolution, wrote Moscow's IAEA envoy Mikhail Ulyanov in a statement. Instead, 'such an escalation will have the most negative consequences both for the IAEA and for the entire non-proliferation regime.' More stories like this are available on
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
28 minutes ago
- First Post
Why Elon Musk's apology to Trump was a good business decision
Last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed that Donald Trump, whom he endorsed for president and gave hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions, was part of the files linked to Jeffrey Epstein. This week, Musk has backed down, saying his posts against Trump 'went too far'. Post the apology, Tesla shares rose, and Musk's net worth increased by $191 million read more Tesla CEO Elon Musk has backtracked this week, apologising and saying his posts against Donald Trump 'went too far'. AP Last week, Elon Musk made a serious allegation against US President Donald Trump. The Tesla CEO and richest man in the world claimed that Trump, who he endorsed for president and to whom he gave hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions, was part of the files linked to Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, killed himself in prison in 2019. However, Musk quickly backtracked this week, apologising and saying his posts against 'went too far'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Musk's apology also came ahead of a major product launch for Tesla next week. But how did the feud escalate? And how has his apology has been good for business? Let's take a closer look How the feud escalated It began with Trump and Musk having a fallout over the Republican president's 'big, beautiful bill'. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,' Musk wrote on X on June 3. Trump, two days later, during a meeting in the Oval Office with Germany's new leader, said he was 'very disappointed' with Musk's comments. 'Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here,' Trump said. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore.' 'He hasn't said bad about me personally, but I'm sure that will be next,' Trump said. 'But I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot.' 'False,' Musk hit back immediately on X even as Trump continued to speak. 'This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD When Trump further said he would have 'won Pennsylvania easily' without Musk's help, The Tesla CEO responded immediately. Musk, remember, spend hundreds of millions of dollars to elect Trump including a $1 million a day giveaway in Pennsylvania. Musk responded that Trump would have lost the election without him and that the Democrats would control both the House and the Senate. Donald Trump said he was 'very disappointed' with Elon Musk. Reuters 'The Big Ugly Bill will INCREASE the deficit to $2.5 trillion!' Musk added. Musk then put up a poll asking his followers if it was time to create a new political party – one that represented the 80 per cent of Americans in the middle. Musk then pointed out that he would be around for a lot longer than Trump. 'Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years…' Trump then launched an all-out assault on Musk. 'I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Trump wrote on social media. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump also threatened Musk's government subsidies and contracts. He wrote, 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' 'Such an obvious lie. So sad,' Musk responded. Then came the big bombshell accusation. Musk claimed Trump appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files . 'Files linked to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have emerged as a point of fixation for Trump and his allies and right-wing media figures,' Musk wrote. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.' 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out,' Musk added. On June 6, the White House claimed that the two men were said to have a phone call to clear the air. However, Trump, in his usual fashion put paid to that telling ABC he was 'not particularly' interested in speaking to Musk. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem,' Trump said. Musk backs down Trump's threats against Musk's subsidies and government contracts seemed to have worked. Musk on Wednesday back down from his claims. 'I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far,' Musk wrote on X early Wednesday morning. This came after Musk made a private phone call to Trump. The development came after Musk and Trump allies including Vice President J Dance and White House Chief Suzie Wiles privately met to discuss a truce. SpaceX headquarters is shown in Hawthorne, California. The company receives billions of dollars in revenue every year in government contracts. Reuters Trump, for his part, appeared pacified by the apology. 'I thought it was very nice that he did that,' Trump told the New York Post. 'Look, I have no hard feelings,' Trump said. 'I was really surprised that that happened. He went after a bill that's phenomenal. …He just — I think he feels very badly that he said that, actually.' 'The President acknowledged the statement that Elon put out this morning and he is appreciative of it and we are continuing to focus on the business of the American people,' the White House said in a statement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How has Musk's apology been good for business? According to Forbes, Musk's net worth rose to $411.4 billion after the apology – an increase of $191 million. This came as, Tesla's shares, which had tanked 14 per cent in the middle of the feud, gained around 1 per cent on Wednesday. The spat between the two men had caused Musk around $34 billion of his net worth – which makes given that SpaceX and Tesla, which form a huge chunk of his net worth, are hugely dependent on government contracts and subsidies. Investors in Musk's companies would now be heaving a sigh of relief after his apology to Trump. Now, with both men seemingly on a path to reconciliation, Musk can keep financing Trump and the Republicans' political ambitions and the government money can keep flowing for both SpaceX and Tesla. With inputs from agencies
