Asian markets edge up as investors eye US trade talks, Chinese stimulus
Asian stocks began the week on a cautious note, with investors holding back on riskier moves as they await developments in U.S. trade negotiations and potential new stimulus measures from China.
A regional gauge advanced 0.6% while futures for the S&P 500 declined 0.6%, indicating a four-day US equities rally may snap, News.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.
Contracts for Europe were little changed. Gold dropped as much as 1.6% as traders unwound positions on signs the metal’s advance may have run too far and too fast. Yields on the 10-year Treasury gained 1 basis point while the dollar was steady.
Amid Asia’s busiest earnings week this season, investors will focus on key economic data - the Bank of Japan’s rate decision, and US jobs report and gross domestic product data - to see if the recent steadiness in markets will continue as tariff tensions tamp down. Traders are also taking some comfort from hopes that the Federal Reserve may reduce interest rates earlier than expected.
Four of the so-called Magnificent Seven - Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. - are due to report earnings this week. Analysts expect the group — which also includes Google-parent Alphabet, Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. — to deliver an average of 15% profit growth in 2025, a forecast that’s barely budged since the start of March despite the flareup in trade tensions.
In European news, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he’s hopeful for a “reliable and lasting peace” after meeting one-on-one with US President Donald Trump, who later questioned whether Russia’s Vladimir Putin genuinely wants to end the war in Ukraine.
Investors are watching for any signs of progress in US trade negotiations after Trump suggested another delay to his higher tariffs was unlikely. Asian economies, facing some of the highest US “reciprocal” tariffs, are leading the way over their western counterparts in trade negotiations with the administration.
To help manage the next steps, the Trump team has drafted a framework to handle negotiations with about 18 countries, including a template that lays out common areas of concern to guide the discussions.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is working on bilateral trade deals with 17 key partners, not including China. Bessent reiterated the administration’s argument that Beijing will be forced to the negotiating table because China can’t sustain Trump’s latest tariff level of 145% on Chinese goods.
Some investors also doubt that Wall Street’s history of quick resurrections will repeat. They’re sweating over categories of high-frequency data that, while far from front-page news, may provide clues as to whether April’s policy disruption will cause lasting economic pain.
Meanwhile, China’s finance minister Lan Fo’an said the nation will adopt more proactive and effective policies to achieve its growth target and “bring stability and impetus to the global economy,” in a statement posted on the ministry’s Website on Saturday.
Equities in China and Hong Kong fluctuated between gains and losses Monday.
Chinese officials on Monday reiterated their plan to strengthen support for employment and the economy. The country is confident of reaching economic targets this year, officials said. The People’s Bank of China also said it will maintain ample liquidity in the markets and will cut banks’ reserve requirements and interest rates in a “timely manner.”
In Japan, Toyota Industries Corp. was poised to surge by the daily limit even as investors scrambled to interpret what Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda’s proposal to buy out the company would mean for corporate governance at Japan’s largest business group.
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