Manila, July 24: Asian shares rose Thursday, buoyed by optimism that the US-Japan tariff agreement will be followed by more trade deals.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged nearly 2 per cent to 41,983.50. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4 per cent to 3,595.58 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.4 per cent to 25,631,08.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.9 per cent to 3,211.21 after central bank data showed Thursday that the country’s second quarter GDP rose 0.6 per cent, above expectations thanks to robust private consumption and exports.
India’s BSE Sensex edged 0.7 per cent higher to 82,726.64 and Australia’s S&P ASX 200 slid 0.1 per cent to 8,729.20.
“Asian equities caught another updraft, rising for a sixth straight session, as whispers of broader trade accords scattered across the tape like migrating birds sensing the storm has passed,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management wrote in a commentary.
“With the ink barely dry on the US-Japan tariff truce — inked at a palatable 15 per cent — traders are already scanning the horizon for the next deal to surface. Europe? Maybe. India? China? Everyone? Perhaps. But the mood is pure Electric Avenue,” he added.
On Wednesday, US stocks set more records following a trade deal between the world’s No. 1 and No. 4 economies, one that would lower proposed tariffs on Japanese imports coming to the United States.
The S&P 500 added 0.8 per cent to its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 507 points, or 1.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6 per cent to hit its own record.
Stocks jumped even more in Tokyo on Wednesday, where the Nikkei 225 rallied 3.5 per cent after President Donald Trump announced a trade framework that would place a 15 per cent tax on imports coming from Japan. That’s lower than the 25 per cent rate that Trump had earlier said would kick in on August 1.
Trump has proposed stiff taxes on imports from around the world, which carry the double-edged risk of driving up inflation for US households while slowing the economy. But many of Trump’s tariffs are currently on pause, giving time to reach deals with other countries that could lower the tax rates. Trump also announced a trade agreement with the Philippines on Tuesday.
So far, the US economy has seemed to hold up OK despite the pressures on it. And tariffs already in place may be having less of an effect than expected, at least when it comes to the prices that US households are paying at the moment.
In other dealings on Thursday, US benchmark crude oil added 22 cents to USD 65.47 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 21 cents to USD 68.72 per barrel.
The US dollar fell to 146.03 against the Japanese yen from 146.51. The euro rose to USD 1.1781 from USD 1.1777. (AP)
