Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed as Trump's talk of tariffs raises uncertainty

[January 22, 2025]  By ZIMO ZHONG

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump's latest comments on tariffs raised uncertainty in Chinese markets.

U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices declined.

Investors in Asia were relieved on Monday after Trump decided not to immediately impose significant tariffs on China. But on Tuesday, Trump said he was considering a 10% punitive duty on Chinese imports over concerns about fentanyl being smuggled from China to the U.S. via Mexico and Canada.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.7% to 19,755.11, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.9% to 3,213.62.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was up 1.6% at 39,646.25 after Trump announced a joint venture that aims to invest up to $500 billion in infrastructure related to artificial intelligence. Softbank Group Corp.'s Japan-listed shares surged 10.6% on Wednesday.

Taiwan’s Taiex also gained 1% after Trump's AI investment push, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. increasing by 1.3%.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi added 1.2% to 2,547.06 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 8,429.80.

U.S. futures were higher while oil prices dropped.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to 6,049.24, while many markets around the world took only tentative steps following Trump’s return to the White House on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to 44,025.81, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.6% to 19,756.78.

Trump has promised sweeping moves to reshape global trade and the economy, often at the expense of other countries, but most stock indexes in Asia and Europe made only modest moves. In the bond market, U.S. Treasury yields gave back some of their big recent gains that had cranked up the pressure on stock markets worldwide, while bitcoin pulled back from its record set the day before.

In the foreign-currency market, the values of both the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar fell against the U.S. dollar after Trump said he expects to put 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting on Feb. 1.

Currency traders talk near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The threat of widespread tariffs, along with the possibility of other policies that could swell the U.S. government’s debt, had helped send Treasury yields higher recently, which in turn knocked down stock prices. To make up for such downward pressure, companies need to deliver stronger earnings growth to support their stock prices.

Treasury yields eased to give back some of the big gains they’d made in recent months on worries about inflation remaining difficult to fully subdue.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.56% from 4.62% late Friday. Like the U.S. stock market, bond trading had been closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The 10-year Treasury yield has been regressing since an encouraging update on inflation last week, but it’s still well above where it was in September, when it was below 3.65%.

Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson said the movements for such longer-term interest rates appear to be the main driver for the overall U.S. stock market. He expects the pattern to continue, where stocks drop when yields rise and vice-versa, at least until the 10-year Treasury yield falls below 4.50% on a sustainable basis, among other things.

In the cryptocurrency market, which has surged amid hopes Trump will make Washington friendlier to the industry, bitcoin pulled back from its record above $109,000 set on Monday and was trading at $105,742 on Wednesday, according to CoinDesk.

Benchmark U.S. crude lost 39 cents to $75.44 a barrel on mid-Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 26 cents at $79.03 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 155.83 Japanese yen from 155.46 yen. The euro cost $1.0410, down from $1.0433.

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