Latest news with #TrumpXiTalks
Malay Mail
8 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Asian markets wobble as Trump-Xi talks offset by Musk row
HONG KONG, June 6 — Asian markets stuttered today as optimism from 'very positive' talks between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping was wiped out by the stunning public row between the US leader and Elon Musk. The much-anticipated discussions between the heads of the world's biggest economies fuelled hopes for an easing of tensions following the US leader's 'Liberation Day' global tariff blitz that targeted Beijing particularly hard. However, investors remained wary after an extraordinary social media row between Trump and billionaire former aide Musk that saw the two trade insults and threats, and sent Wall Street into the red. Wall Street's three main indexes ended down as Musk's electric vehicle company Tesla tanked more than 14 per cent and the president threatened his multibillion-dollar government contracts. Asian equities fluctuated in early business, with some observers suggesting traders were positioning for what could be a volatile start to next week in light of the row and upcoming US jobs data. Hong Kong dropped after three days of strong gains, while Shanghai and Taiwan also retreated. Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington rose. Chris Weston at Pepperstone said that while the call with Xi was 'seen as a step in the right direction, (it) proved to offer nothing tangible for traders to work with and attention has quickly pushed back to the Trump-Musk war of words'. 'It's all about US nonfarm payrolls from here and is an obvious risk that Asia-based traders need to consider pre-positioning for,' he added. He said there was a risk of Trump sparking market-moving headlines over the weekend given that he is 'now fired up and the risk of him saying something through the weekend that moves markets on the Monday open is elevated'. The US jobs figures, which are due later today, will be closely followed after a below-par reading on private hiring this week raised worries about the labour market and outlook for the world's top economy. They come amid bets that the Federal Reserve is preparing to resume cutting interest rates from September, even as economists warn that Trump's tariffs could reignite inflation. Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management warned that while poor jobs figures could signal further weakness in the economy, a strong reading could deal a blow to the market. 'In this upside-down market regime, strength can be weakness. A hotter-than-expected (figure) could force traders to price out Fed cuts. That's the paradox in play — where good news on Main Street turns into bad news on Wall Street.' — AFP
Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
US President Trump, Chinese counterpart Xi "likely" to hold talks this week: White House
Washington, DC: US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are "likely" to hold talks this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday (local time), ABC News reported. While speaking to reporters, Leavitt said that the readout of the call would be provided if the two leaders hold talks. Earlier on Sunday, the White House National Economic Council Director, Kevin Hassett, had said that there was an expectation for Trump and Xi to hold talks this week. Responding to the reporter's query, Leavitt said, "I can confirm that the two leaders will likely talk this week." "And as always, when foreign leaders call, we will provide a readout of those calls," she added, as per ABC News report. Hassett made the remarks during an appearance on ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday. However, he did not mention the specific date when the two leaders would hold talks. The development comes after Trump accused China of breaching a deal negotiated between officials of the two nations in Geneva last month to roll back high tariffs for 90 days. However, China rejected Trump's allegations on Monday and accused the US of provoking "new economic and trade frictions." On May 30, Trump accused China of violating a recent trade agreement with the US. However, he did not mention China's action that violated its agreement with China. In a post shared on Truth Social, he stated, "Two weeks ago, China was in grave economic danger! The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace, which is, by far, the number one in the World. We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them. Many factories closed and there was, to put it mildly, 'civil unrest.' I saw what was happening and didn't like it, for them, not for us." "I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn't want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY," he added. Earlier in May, the US announced a trade deal with China in Geneva. US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said that there was substantial progress between the parties. "I'm happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks. First, I want to thank our Swiss host. The Swiss government has been very kind in providing us this wonderful venue, and I think that led to a great deal of productivity we've seen. We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive," the White House quoted Bessent as saying. "We had the vice premier, two vice ministers, who were integrally involved, Ambassador Jamieson, and myself. And I spoke to President Trump, as did Ambassador Jamieson, last night, and he is fully informed of what is going on. So, there will be a complete briefing tomorrow morning," he added. US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer said that the parties came to a conclusion very quickly. "This was, as the Secretary pointed out, a very constructive two days. It's important to understand how quickly we were able to come to an agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought," he said. Greer hoped that the deal would help the US deal with a trade deficit of USD 1.2 trillion. "That being said, there was a lot of groundwork that went into these two days. Just remember why we're here in the first place -- the United States has a massive USD1.2 trillion trade deficit, so the President declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we're confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency," the statement read.
