Asian stocks today: Markets trade mixed following Wall Street’s rally; Nikkei down over 1000 points, Kospi adds 0.2%
Asian shares traded mixed on Tuesday following a rally on Wall Street, sparked by US President Donald Trump’s assurances over ties with China. Japan’s Nikkei slipped 2.2% or 1061 points to 47,027 as trading resumed after a national holiday on Monday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 0.1% to 25,839, while Shanghai’s Composite edged up 0.2% to 3,897.56.In South Korea, Kospi added 0.02% to trade at 3,585 at 10:00 AM IST. “Don’t worry about China,” Trump said on his social media platform on Sunday. He added that China’s leader, Xi Jinping, “doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!” The comments come after a turbulent week for markets. The S&P 500 saw its worst drop since April, on Friday following Trump’s criticism of China as “a moral disgrace in dealing with other Nations” and his threat of higher tariffs. Despite the tough rhetoric, Trump said he may still meet Xi Jinping later this month at a regional summit, leaving the status of trade talks uncertain. Trump’s wavering on tariffs, along with expectations of several Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, has helped push stocks higher since April. However, critics warn that markets now look expensive, especially in the artificial intelligence sector, drawing comparisons to the dot-com bubble in 2000. Broadcom saw one of Monday’s biggest gains in the S&P 500, jumping 9.9% after announcing a partnership with OpenAI to develop AI accelerators for ChatGPT. Meanwhile, Fastenal dropped 7.5%, the largest loss in the index, after reporting slightly weaker-than-expected quarterly profits. Investors are now turning to the upcoming earnings season, with major US companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, and United Airlines set to report summer profits. In commodities, US crude added 20 cents to $59.69 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 21 cents to $63.53 a barrel. In currency markets, the dollar fell to 152.13 Japanese yen from 152.29 yen, while the euro strengthened slightly to $1.1581 from $1.1569.
