Pedestrians walking across a crowded traffic at Shibuya crossing square in Tokyo, Japan.
Jaczhou | E+ | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Wednesday, tracking Wall Street gains on expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be softer than expected earlier.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.71% to close at 7,999.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.03%, while the Topix added 0.73%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.17% while the small-cap Kosdaq traded 0.53% higher.
Thailand’s SET Index rose 0.53% after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra survived a no-confidence vote.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.16% while mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.25%. The Hang Seng Tech index, which tracks the 30 largest technology companies listed in Hong Kong is 0.61% higher as it dances around the brink of correction.
According to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, the White House’s planned tariffs set for April 2 are expected to be narrow in scope. Trump also on Friday suggested some “flexibility” for his reciprocal tariff plans for trading partners. However, U.S. consumers’ confidence is taking a hit.
“As President Trump prepares to escalate the trade war next week, U.S. consumers are increasingly inflation-weary, their finances are more fragile, and they face higher risks in the labor market,” Morning Consult wrote in a note, adding that U.S. consumers are expected to cut spending across all income brackets.
U.S. stock futures were little changed after the S&P 500 posted a marginal gain, marking its third positive session in a row.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major averages closed higher. The S&P 500 posted a slim gain, adding 0.16% to close at 5,776.65. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.46% and ended at 18,271.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average crept higher by 4.18 points, or 0.01%, to settle at 42,587.50.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh and Hayung Kim contributed to this report.
Thailand prime minister survives no-confidence vote in parliament
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra survived a no-confidence vote today, after the country’s main opposition reportedly accused her of being unqualified and allowing her father to wield influence over her administration.
The opposition People’s Party said she was taking direction from her powerful father Thaksin Shinawatra, who was Thailand’s prime minister from 2001 to 2006.
Paetongtarn is also the niece of Yingluck Shinawatra, who was Thai prime minister from 2011 to 2014 before she was removed in a coup.
Read the full story here.
—Lim Hui Jie
China’s CATL gains approval to list in Hong Kong
China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the largest electric vehicle battery producer in the world, reported that it has gained approval for a share sale in Hong Kong.
The deal is expected to raise at least $5 billion, Reuters reported citing sources familiar with the matter. This will mark Hong Kong’s largest IPO in four years.
—Lee Ying Shan
Bank of Japan to keep raising rates if growth, inflation meet expectations, governor says
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said that the central bank will keep lifting interest rates if economic conditions and price development trends move in line with the bank’s expectations, Reuters reported.
He also noted that Japan’s high inflation was driven by temporary factors such as elevated import costs and food prices, which could ease.
—Lee Ying Shan
Australia February inflation eases marginally, below expectations
Australia’s inflation for February eased to 2.4% year-on-year, down from the 2.5% seen in January and below expectations from economists polled by Reuters.
The country’s statistics bureau said the largest contributors to the annual movement were food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcohol and tobacco, as well as housing.
A note issued by Capital Economics earlier said that the weakness in underlying inflation means the Reserve Bank of Australia will probably cut rates again 25 basis points in its meeting in May, saying this also “creates some downside risks to our forecast that the Bank will only cut rates to 3.6%.”
The RBA’s policy rate is currently at 4.1%.
— Lim Hui Jie
Stocks end Tuesday in positive territory
Energy outperforms in March
Energy, which has climbed 3.2% month to date, is the only positive sector in March.
The top outperformers in the sector are EQT and Expand Energy, which have jumped around 13% and 11%, respectively, for the month.
The energy sector was last up 0.3% Tuesday.
— Hakyung Kim
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