Tokyo, Asian shares mostly rose Wednesday after China and the US said they had agreed on a framework for following up on the trade truce reached last month in Geneva.
US futures fell while oil prices edged higher.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 0.6 per cent in afternoon trading to 38,450.76. Data from the Bank of Japan data showed wholesale inflation slowed in May, meaning there might be less pressure for the central bank to raise interest rates in its next policy board meeting.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.9 per cent to 24,381.39, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5 per cent to 3,402.97.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2 per cent to 8,603.70. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.0 per cent to 2,900.05.
Tuesday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent to 6,038.81 as the trade talks between the world’s two largest economies carried into a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 per cent to 42,866.87, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6 per cent to 19,714.99.
Stocks have roared higher since dropping roughly 20 per cent below their record two months ago, when President Donald Trump shocked financial markets with his announcement of tariffs that were so stiff that they raised worries about a possible recession.
Much of the rally has been due to hopes that Trump would lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with countries around the world, and the S&P 500 is back within 1.7 per cent of its record set in February.
Analysts said that after two days of discussion in London, the late-night agreement reached appeared to be a consensus on what was already agreed upon before. Even so, Trump’s approval is still needed.
“So what did 48 hours of talks actually produce? Apparently, a reaffirmation to eventually do what they had already said they would do. If markets were expecting substance, they got process instead,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Tuesday evening in London that talks with China were going “really, really well.” Both the United States and China have put many of their tariffs on each other’s exports on pause as talks continue.
Still, uncertainty over what is to come is still affecting companies and their ability to make profits.
Designer Brands, the company behind the DSW shoe store chain, became the latest US company to yank its financial forecasts for 2025 because of “uncertainty stemming primarily from global trade policies.”
The company, which also owns the Keds, Jessica Simpson and other shoe brands, reported a larger loss for the start of the year than analysts were expecting, and its revenue also fell short of forecasts. CEO Doug Howe pointed to ”persistent instability and pressure on consumer discretionary” spending, and the company’s stock tumbled 18.2 per cent.
The uncertainty is moving in both directions, to be sure. A survey released Tuesday of optimism among small US businesses improved a bit in May.
“While the economy will continue to stumble along until the major sources of uncertainty are resolved, owners reported more positive expectations on business conditions and sales growth,” according to Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Business.
Tesla helped to make up for such losses by rising 5.7 per cent. The electric vehicle company has been recovering since tumbling last week as Elon Musk’s relationship with Trump imploded. That raised fear about possible retaliation by the US government against Tesla.
Shares that trade in the United States of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 2.6 per cent after the company known as TSMC said its revenue in May jumped nearly 40 per cent from the year earlier.
In other dealings early Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.48 per cent from 4.47 per cent late Tuesday.
Benchmark US crude oil gained 8 cents to USD 65.06 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 2 cents to USD 66.89 a barrel.
The US dollar rose to 145.08 Japanese yen from 144.84 yen. The euro cost USD 1.1418, down from USD 1.1425. GRS GRS
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
