Asian shares and US stock futures fell on concern President Donald Trump’s tariffs are here to stay after his administration reiterated its resolve to keep the levies amid a legal tussle. A gauge of Asian shares dipped 0.5%, trimming its biggest monthly gain since November 2023. Sentiment towards equity markets also worsened after the Wall Street Journal reported the administration is considering a stopgap effort to impose levies on swaths of the global economy. Hong Kong shares dropped 1.5% after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said trade talks with China were “a bit stalled.” European equity-index futures also retreated. Tariff headlines, and uncertainty about the legal status of Trump’s new levies, are once again dominating financial markets, prompting investors to re-assess their appetite for riskier assets. Adding to the concerns, a report on Thursday showed the US economy shrank at the start of the year due to weaker consumer spending and an even bigger impact from trade than initially reported. On Thursday, a federal appeals court offered Trump a temporary reprieve from a ruling threatening to throw out the bulk of his tariff agenda. That came after the US Court of International Trade ruled that the vast majority of Trump’s global tariffs were illegal. White House officials said they planned to continue defending the legality of their efforts on trade to the US Supreme Court, and said that if they were stymied, Trump would simply pursue the same levies through other authorities. The dollar edged higher, paring a fifth month of losses, which would match a similar losing streak in 2020. The Wall Street Journal said the administration is contemplating a plan to place tariffs on swaths of the global economy under a never-before-used provision of the Trade Act of 1974. That includes language allowing for tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days to address trade imbalances with other countries. Meanwhile, Bessent said that a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may be needed for the world’s two largest economies to reach a trade deal. Bessent, who traveled to Switzerland earlier this month for talks with Chinese officials that saw both sides retreat from tariffs over 100% on each other’s goods, said he believes more talks will happen with Chinese officials “in the next few weeks.” An index of Chinese stocks in Hong Kong retreated 1.7% while a gauge of technology shares in the city slumped 2.5%. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. fell 4.3%. Chinese long-end bond futures rise the most in a month as risk-off sentiment takes hold following signs of stalled trade talks Prices in Tokyo jumped in a worrisome sign for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of a summer election. The yen strengthened. High inflation and strong wage growth means the Bank of Japan is likely to hike in July and December, Kristina Clifton, a senior economist and strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a note “However, for the BOJ, the risks are skewed toward less hikes because of the uncertain global backdrop and negative impacts of US tariffs on the Japanese economy.” Separately, the sale of two-year government notes Friday got a higher cut-off price. That came after auction of 40-year bonds earlier this week drew the weakest demand since July. US After Hours PATH +9.3%, ULTA +8.1%, ZS +4.5%, DELL +1.6% higher on earnings; GAP -14.6%, ESTC -12%, AEO -7.6%, NTAP -5% lower on earnings.
Nikkei -0.88% Hang Seng -1.40% CSI -0.18% Shanghai -0.22% Shenzen -0.77%
Eur$ 1.1345 CNH 7.1911 CNY 7.1890 JPY 143.88 GBP 1.3475 CHF 0.8233 RUB 77.1576 TRY 39.2289 WTI$ 60.74 -0.33% Gold 3,296 -0.65% BTC 106,212 +0.02% ETH 2,638 -0.22%
S&P -0.04% Nasdaq -0.04% EuroStoxx +0.04% FTSE +0.34% Dax +0.07% SMI +0.07%
Macro :
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