Asia-Pacific markets trade sluggishly as impact of Trump tariffs on Wall Street’s earnings loom

Asia-Pacific markets trade sluggishly as impact of Trump tariffs on Wall Street’s earnings loom


Sunset view of Yarra river and Melbourne skyscrapers business office building with evening skyline in Victoria, Australia. Australia tourism, modern city life, or business finance and economy concept

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Asia-Pacific markets had a sluggish open as investors awaited the extent of the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on corporate earnings and economic data expected from Wall Street this week.

Market watchers were also closely monitoring developments surrounding trade deal negotiations between the U.S. and countries in the region.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 started the day 0.38% higher.

Over in South Korea, the Kospi index was down 0.13% while the small-cap Kosdaq added 0.43%.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 21,999, pointing to a slightly higher open compared to the HSI’s last close of 21,971.96.

Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.

U.S. futures were little changed, after all three key benchmarks swung between gains and losses in Monday’s choppy session.

Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 inched slightly higher by 0.06% to close at 5,528.75. This is the broad-based index’s fifth straight winning day.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite ticked 0.1% lower and ended at 17,366.13, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114.09 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 40,227.59.

Four of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” companies — Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft — came under pressure briefly during the session ahead of their quarterly reports. Apple and Meta Platforms ended the session modestly higher, each up about 0.4%. Microsoft slipped 0.2% while Amazon was off 0.7%.

— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.



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