Hong Kong. Kowloon. Busy street in Mong Kok District.
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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed as investors assessed U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration that a trade deal with China was “done.”
Chinese imports would invite 55% tariffs, Trump suggested. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed that tariffs on China will stay at that level.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.10% while the broader Topix added 0.12%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.34%, and the small-cap Kosdaq was little changed.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.25%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index last traded at 24,252, pointing to a weaker open compared to the HSI’s last close of 24,366.94.
Traders will be looking toward a slate of inflation data coming out of the Philippines and Thailand later in the day.
U.S. stock futures fell as traders weighed a preliminary U.S.-China trade agreement and new inflation data. S&P 500 futures traded down 0.2%, along with Nasdaq 100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were also lower by 72 points, or 0.2%.
These moves come after U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in May. The consumer price index climbed 0.1% for the month, compared with the Dow Jones forecast for a 0.2% rise. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, also rose less than expected.
Overnight stateside, all three key benchmarks closed lower. The market’s recent run higher took a breather as major indexes ended the session near previous closing levels.
Trump said earlier in a Truth Social post that the deal with China was “done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me.”
As part of the deal framework, he said that magnets and “any necessary rare earths” will be supplied up front by China and the U.S. will allow Chinese students to attend U.S. colleges and universities, adding that “WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%.”
That didn’t excite stock or bond investors, Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research wrote in a note published Thursday. “Perhaps, they were unsettled that Trump also said he is less confident that Iran will agree to stop uranium enrichment in a nuclear deal with Washington,” he said.
Equities pulled back as the market considered the reality of much higher tariffs being here to stay, said ANZ economists in a note.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans, Pia Singh, Sean Conlon contributed to this report.