Asia-Pacific live: U.S.-China trade
© Marco Bottigelli | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Thursday, breaking ranks with Wall Street as investors assessed U.S.-China trade developments.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.90%, while the Topix lost 0.75%. South Korea's Kospi declined 0.29% while the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.37%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.42%, while mainland China's CSI 300 lost 0.6%. India's Nifty 50 traded flat at the open.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 0.21%.
"While markets have largely priced in peak tariff-related macro stress, we remain wary of a second wave of volatility, this time driven by fiscal policy uncertainty and weakening U.S. hard data," Citi analysts said in a note.
U.S. stock futures slipped in overnight trading after the S&P 500 index rose for a third straight day. China and the U.S. hammered out a temporary suspension of their tit-for-tat tariff dispute earlier this week.
Overnight, the S&P 500 rose modestly, extending a strong start to the week that pushed the benchmark into the green for the year. The broad market index inched up 0.10% to close at 5,892.58, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.72% and ended at 19,146.81. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89.37 points, or 0.21%, to settle at 42,051.06.
— CNBC's Brian Evans and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
Ajay Rajadhyaksha, global chairman of Research at Barclays, cautions that the biggest risk to U.S. equities is not tariffs or near-term weak growth, but rising long-term bond yields.
Rajadhyaksha expressed this concern in view of the Republicans' tax bill, which he said would add to the deficit and then be reflected in the bond market.
"They're talking about adding another $3.7 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. But I'll remind you that the goodies, the tax cuts in that bill, are front loaded over the next three or four years. The spending cuts, you know, the cuts on Medicare and so on, even if they get through Congress, are back loaded, " he told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" Wednesday.
While this might not spell trouble now, "if the 10 year starts to head past 450, gets to 475, starts to get suspiciously close to 5%, that would be a huge problem," he added.
- Penny Chen, Neha Hegde
Reliance Industries has secured a dual-currency loan of $2.98 billion-equivalent, marking the biggest offshore Indian loan since 2023, Bloomberg reported citing sources close to the matter.
The facility reportedly drew participation from around 55 lenders.
Shares of Reliance Industries rose 0.6%.
—Lee Ying Shan
China equities are expected to stay volatile in the near term even after the newly announced U.S.-China tariff reprieve, Vivian Thurston, portfolio manager for William Blair's Emerging Markets Growth team, told CNBC.
While there is now a temporarily reduced tariff on China exports from an extremely high level of 145%, it still remains high at 30%, she added.
"I believe it is too early to call a sustained rerating of Chinese equities," she said.
China's CSI 300 was down 0.6% in choppy trade as of 10.19 a.m. local time.
—Lee Ying Shan
Australian net employment in April surged by 89,000 workers, sharply beating Reuters estimates of a 20,000 increase, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.
This compares against a 32,200 climb in March.
The country's unemployment rate remained at 4.1%, in line with Reuters forecast.
—Lee Ying Shan
China on Thursday relaxed the reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points, according to state media Xinhua.
The reserve requirement ratio determines the amount of cash banks must hold in reserves.
The move, which was announced by the country's central bank last week, will unleash additional liquidity of 1 trillion yuan ($138.5 billion) to the market.
The central bank also unveiled other sweeping policy steps, including interest rate cuts, to boost growth amid trade volatility.
—Lee Ying Shan
Citi analysts see oil prices falling later in the year after they inched up recently as the possibility of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal draws close.
Brent prices have risen above $66 per barrel from recent lows of $60 as U.S.-China trade tensions eased.
Oil prices in the past six months
Citi forecasts oil prices to average around $62 to $63 per barrel in the second and third quarter this year, especially with potential geopolitical dealmaking on the cards between the U.S. and the Middle East.
Investors are keeping a close eye on U.S. President Donald Trump as he tours Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
— Lee Ying Shan
The S&P 500 closed higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark notching its third straight positive session.
The broad market index added 0.1% to finish the session at 5,892.58, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.72% to 19,146.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 89.37 points, or 0.21%, to close at 42,051.06.
— Brian Evans
