Tien Nguyen | 500px Plus | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets rose Tuesday as Wall Street gained overnight on hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be be softer than expected.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.52%. The country’s budget will be tabled by Treasurer Jim Chalmers later in the day.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.80%, while the broader Topix index increased 0.26%.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi index advanced 0.17% while the small-cap Kosdaq added 0.13%.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 traded flat while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.06% at the open.
U.S. futures edged down marginally after the three key Wall Street indexes logged gains overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 597.97 points, or 1.42%, to end at 42,583.32. The S&P 500 added 1.76% and closed at 5,767.57, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 2.27% to settle at 18,188.59.
Shares of Tesla, which have fallen for nine straight weeks, rose nearly 12%, adding to their Friday gains. Meta Platforms and Nvidia climbed more than 3%.
— CNBC’s Pia Singh, Brian Evans and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
BOJ minutes show that board members considered additional rate hikes in future
The Bank of Japan will continue to raise interest rates if the country’s economy and inflation continues to develop “in line with its outlook”, minutes from the central bank showed.
In its minutes, one of the BOJ’s board members pointed out that real interest rates were expected to remain significantly negative after the policy interest rate hike, and the Bank should to continue to raise rates so that the negative real interest rates would shrink.
Other members also noted concerns over inflation, saying that risks to prices had become more skewed to the upside.
The BOJ’s forecast in January showed that the bank is expecting core inflation to come in at 2.4%, while GDP growth is expected to be at 1.1%.
— Lim Hui Jie
Japan’s Topix briefly hit eight-month high of 2,818.36
Japan’s Topix index opened higher on Tuesday, and briefly hit 2,818.36 — its highest level in eight months.
As at 9.35 a.m. local time, the broad-based index had gained 0.78%.
Gains were led by inkjet printer manufacturer Mimaki Engineering which advanced 9.11%, beverage firm Yomeishu Seizo which rose 5.67% and electrical equipment manufacturer Fujikura which was up 4.97%.
— Amala Balakrishner
Hyundai Motor shares gain over 5% following $21 billion investment in the U.S.
Shares in South Korea’s Hyundai Motor rose 5.16% in early trade Tuesday, after it invested $21 billion in the United States on Monday state side.
The amount invested includes a new $5.8 billion plant for Hyundai Steel in the state of Louisiana, which will create over 1,400 jobs and produce over 2.7 million metric tons of steel annually.
The plant is also expected to supply steel to auto plants in Alabama and Georgia.
Shares in Hyundai Steel was up 1.19% as at 9.19 a.m. local time.
— Amala Balakrishner
Trump says U.S. will impose 25% tariffs on countries that buy oil, gas from Venezuela
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 24, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
President Trump said the U.S. will impose 25% tariffs on countries that buy oil and gas from Venezuela, as he seeks to increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro and China.
Countries that buy oil and gas from Venezuela will face tariffs on any trade they have with the U.S., Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. The tariffs take effect April 2, the president said.
Venezuela exported about 660,000 barrels per day in 2024, according to data from Kpler. China was the largest destination for the South American nation’s crude exports, purchasing 270,000 barrels per day last year.
“This announcement by the Trump administration appears to be one more action targeting China,” Matt Smith, an oil analyst at Kpler, told CNBC.
Brent crude futures rose 61 cents, or 0.85%, to $72.77 a barrel by 1:15 p.m. ET. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 59 cents, or 0.86%, at $68.87.
— Spencer Kimball