Asian stocks saw mixed movement on Wednesday, with investors struggling to sustain momentum from Wall Street’s strong session amid fading enthusiasm over the recent U.S.-China trade thaw.
While April’s sharp market swings have eased for now, analysts warned that meaningful progress on U.S. trade negotiations—particularly tariff deals—remains elusive, and sustained stability is far from guaranteed.
Investor sentiment received a modest lift after data showed U.S. inflation unexpectedly cooled last month. However, analysts cautioned that the full impact of President Donald Trump’s new tariffs—dubbed “Liberation Day” measures—won’t be reflected until May’s inflation report.
Speaking aboard Air Force One en route to the Gulf, Trump touted a breakthrough with Beijing. “We have the framework of a very, very strong deal with China,” he said in an interview with Fox News. “The most exciting part… is the opening up of China to U.S. business.”
During his visit, Saudi Arabia announced $600 billion in U.S.-bound investments across sectors including defense and artificial intelligence. Major agreements included a semiconductor partnership involving Nvidia and AMD, which Trump claimed would drive job creation and lift U.S. markets.
The S&P 500 climbed back into positive territory for the year, with the Nasdaq also posting strong gains, buoyed partly by the softer inflation print. Still, Asian markets failed to fully mirror the rally.
By 0230 GMT:
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.2%
• Seoul, Jakarta, and Taipei all saw gains above 1%
• Tokyo’s Nikkei dropped 0.8% to 37,874.59
• Shanghai edged down 0.1%
• Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, and Manila were flat or negative
Oil prices, which had enjoyed a recent four-day surge on rising demand hopes and Trump’s tough talk on Iran, also slipped slightly.
While investors welcomed signs of a thaw in U.S.-China relations, many are bracing for further twists in Trump’s global trade confrontations. “It’s an armistice, not a peace treaty—tariffs are still high,” said Neil Wilson of Saxo Markets.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management added: “Markets know the cycle—Trump escalates, markets tumble, back-channels open, China blinks, a deal is made, risk rallies. The fog has lifted—for now.”
Encouraged by the cooling tensions, JPMorgan Chase revised its U.S. economic outlook upward, now projecting growth this year instead of contraction.
Investors are also closely watching earnings reports from Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent, which could offer insights into how the sector is navigating the ongoing trade and economic uncertainty.
Key Market Figures at 0230 GMT:
• Tokyo – Nikkei 225: -0.8% at 37,874.59
• Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: +1.2% at 23,390.30
• Shanghai – Composite: -0.1% at 3,372.40
• Euro/Dollar: $1.1186, down from $1.1189
• Pound/Dollar: $1.3308, up from $1.3304
• Dollar/Yen: 147.21 yen, down from 147.47 yen
• Euro/Pound: 84.08 pence, up from 84.07 pence
• WTI Crude: -0.4% at $63.44/barrel
• Brent Crude: -0.4% at $66.39/barrel
• New York – Dow: -0.6% at 42,140.43 (close)
• London – FTSE 100: Flat at 8,602.92 (close)