Asia-Pacific markets were trading subdued Monday as investors awaited official announcement on whether the Aug. 12 deadline for U.S.–China tariff truce would be extended.
Crypto rallies: Ether soars to multiyear highs, bitcoin scales 1-month peak
Cryptocurrencies rose Monday, with ether hitting $4,335.17, its highest since late 2021.
Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, was trading at 4,308.98 as of 10:37 a.m. Singapore time (10:37 p.m. ET). It is up nearly 29% so far this year.
Thomas Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, told CNBC that ether is the preferred choice for Wall Street because it has had “zero downtime since inception… and [is] the most legally compliant and secure blockchain.”
Bitcoin gained 2.8% to reach $121,733, its highest since July 14, according to LSEG data.
CATL halts production at key lithium mine after license lapses
Shares of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), China’s leading battery producer, traded flat after it announced that it had stopped operations at a major lithium mine after its license expired.
The Yichun mine in Jiangxi province saw its license lapse on August 9, said CATL. The firm is working to secure a renewal “as soon as possible,” adding that production will resume once approved.
—Lee Ying Shan
Australia central bank is expected to cut rates by 25 points
Economists surveyed by Reuters expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to lower its cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.60% on Aug. 12, after surprising that market by holding rates in July.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which participated in the survey, cited in a separate note that RBA’s concerns around market services and durable goods inflation were “largely squashed.”
“The all‑important Q2 25 CPI data has come and gone and confirmed the disinflation impulse in the Australian economy,” CBA economists added.
Australia’s headline inflation rate in the second quarter of the year came in at 2.1% year over year, slipping to its lowest point since March 2021.
—Lee Ying Shan
China markets open higher as U.S.-China tariff truce deadline nears
China markets opened marginally higher as traders kept an eye out for indicators that the Aug. 12 deadline for U.S.–China tariff truce would be extended.
The mainland’s benchmark CSI 300 climbed 0.13%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched 0.07% higher.
Morgan Stanley said in a note that the Hong Kong market is likely to “resume its momentum” some time after the summer, assuming improved clarity on the U.S.-China trade relations, as well as the reveal of the next five-year growth plan for China.
—Lee Ying Shan
South Korea, Australia markets start the trading day mixed
South Korea and Australia markets started the trading day mixed. South Korea’s Kospi as well as the small-cap Kosdaq were trading flat.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched 0.43% higher. The Australian central bank is scheduled to announce its interest-rate decision on Tuesday.
—Lee Ying Shan
SK Hynix shares rally as chipmaker forecasts robust AI memory demand
SK Hynix shares rose 2.72% after the South Korean chipmaker forecast that demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in artificial intelligence will rise 30% each year through the end of the decade, a senior executive told Reuters.
Capital spending on AI by major cloud providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google is likely to be revised higher, a development that would benefit the HBM market, said Choi Joon-yong, SK Hynix’s head of HBM business planning.
“AI demand from the end user is pretty much, very firm and strong,” Choi added.
—Lee Ying Shan, Reuters
SoftBank selects banks for US IPO of payments app PayPay, Reuters reports
SoftBank has selected investment banks to help organize a potential initial public offering in the United States for its Japanese payments app operator PayPay, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The banks leading preparations for the listing are Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Mizuho Financial Group and Morgan Stanley, the sources said.
The PayPay offering may raise more than $2 billion from investors when it takes place, which the sources said could be as soon as the final quarter of this year.
— Reuters
Monday opening calls
Happy Monday from Singapore. Asia markets were poised for a mixed open.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was set to start the day lower with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,768, compared with the index’s last close of 8,807.1.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index stood at 24,937, pointing to a higher open compared with the HSI’s last close of 24,858.82.
Japan markets are closed for a holiday.
— Lee Ying Shan
Nvidia claps back against Chinese accusations its H20 chips pose a security risk
Visitors visit the NVIDIA booth at the 3rd China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, China, on July 20, 2025.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Chip giant Nvidia pushed back Sunday in response to allegations from Chinese state media that its H20 artificial intelligence chips are a national security risk for China.
Earlier in the day, Reuters reported Yuyuan Tantian, an account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, said in an article published on WeChat that the Nvidia H20 chips are not technologically advanced or environmentally friendly.
“When a type of chip is neither environmentally friendly, nor advanced, nor safe, as consumers, we certainly have the option not to buy it,” the Yuyuan Tantian article reportedly said, adding that the article said chips could achieve functions including “remote shutdown” through a hardware “backdoor.”
In response, a Nvidia spokesperson told CNBC that “cybersecurity is critically important to us. NVIDIA does not have ‘backdoors’ in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them.”
Nvidia on Tuesday rejected similar accusations.
For more, read here.
— Pia Singh
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