Asia markets live: Stocks to open mixed

Published 1 day ago• 2 minute read

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Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Tuesday, after Wall Street gained on hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs could be be softer than expected.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 started the day 0.63% higher. The country's budget will be tabled by Treasurer Jim Chalmers later in the day.

Over in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open higher, with the futures contract in Chicago at 37,805 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 37,720, against the index's Monday close of 37,608.49.

Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index last traded at 23,609, pointing to a weaker open compared to the HSI's close of 23,905.56.

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.

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.