Asian equities mixed as Trump’s tariff deadline looms; US jobs data surprises and Wall Street surges
Asian markets showed mixed movement on Friday as investors treaded carefully ahead of a looming US tariff deadline set by President Donald Trump. The uncertainty overshadowed positive cues from Wall Street, where a strong US jobs report lifted major indexes to record highs.Trump told reporters Thursday that he planned to begin sending letters to trading partners detailing new tariffs, as his July 9 deadline approaches. “My inclination is to send a letter out and say what tariff they’re going to be paying,” he said, adding that letters could start going out “probably tomorrow, maybe 10 a day.”The move follows his sweeping announcement of new levies on “Liberation Day” in early April, sparking a global rush for trade deals to avoid the tariffs. So far, only Britain and Vietnam have signed agreements, while China has reached a framework deal with Washington to reduce mutual tariffs and ease restrictions on some goods.Tariff uncertainty grips investorsAs negotiations continue, investors worry that countries like Japan, South Korea, India, and Taiwan could soon face higher tariffs. The uncertainty weighed on markets across Asia. Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington, and Jakarta posted small gains, while Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, and Manila ended lower.Despite these concerns, Wall Street closed strong ahead of the US Independence Day holiday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit fresh record highs after US jobs data showed the economy added 147,000 jobs in June, above expectations, while unemployment fell to 4.1%.However, the upbeat headline figures masked underlying weakness, analysts warned. MUFG said hiring in the private sector appeared to be stalling, with more than 750,000 people having exited the labor force over the past two months. “We continue to view labour demand as being fundamentally weak relative to the past several years,” they noted.The labor data reduced expectations of a July interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Markets are now pricing in two rate cuts by year-end, the first likely in September.Meanwhile, the passage of Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which extends major tax and spending cuts, added to market confusion. While the legislation includes a $5 trillion debt limit increase, preventing a potential US default, it is also projected to add $3 trillion to the national debt.
Market snapshot at 2.30 GMT:
- Tokyo: Nikkei 225 up 0.1% at 39,828.20
- Hong Kong: Hang Seng Index down 1.1% at 23,797.99
- Shanghai: Composite up 0.1% at 3,463.89
- Euro/Dollar: $1.1770 (up from $1.1755)
- Pound/Dollar: $1.3656 (up from $1.3642)
- Dollar/Yen: 144.61 yen (down from 145.06 yen)
- Euro/Pound: 86.19 pence (up from 86.14 pence)
- WTI crude: Down 0.2% at $66.88 per barrel
- Brent crude: Down 0.3% at $68.59 per barrel
- New York Dow: Up 0.8% at 44,823.53 (close)
- London FTSE 100: Up 0.6% at 8,823.20 (close)
