Hong Kong (AFP) – Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as they weighed Indonesia’s trade deal with Washington and a spike in US inflation that saw investors pare their bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Donald Trump said a trade deal had been struck with Jakarta that will see Washington impose tariffs of 19 percent on its goods, below the 32 percent previously threatened. US shipments will not be taxed. The news means the US president has now announced deals with three countries, but around two dozen are still in the pipeline just over two weeks ahead of Trump’s August 1 deadline. Some have suggested a healthy run-up on Wall Street over the past few weeks could be giving him confidence to keep the threats up. Trump also warned Tuesday that he could begin imposing tolls on imports of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals from August 1.
While the trade deal news was welcomed, investor confidence was dented by data showing US inflation jumped to 2.7 percent last month, sharply up from 2.4 percent in May and more than forecast as Trump’s tariffs began to kick in. “Today’s report finally provided ample evidence that tariffs are being passed onto consumers,” said economists at Bank of America. The data saw the probability of a Fed rate cut in September slip to just a little higher than 50 percent. The dollar briefly rallied past 149 yen for the first time since April before edging back later in the day. That came as Dallas Fed president Lorie Logan said “monetary policy needs to hold tight for a while longer to bring inflation sustainably back to target — and in this base case, we can sustain maximum employment even with modestly restrictive policy.” Still, she added in prepared remarks that: “It’s also possible that some combination of softer inflation and a weakening labour market will call for lower rates fairly soon.”
Equity markets were mixed in Asia, with Hong Kong down along with Sydney, Seoul, Manila, and Bangkok. Taipei, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, and Jakarta rose, while Tokyo and Shanghai were flat. London edged up even as data showed UK inflation jumped unexpectedly in June to hit an 18-month high. Paris and Frankfurt dipped. Tech firms extended gains after US titan Nvidia said it would resume exports of key chips to China following Washington’s pledge to remove licensing curbs. California-based Nvidia, one of the world’s most valuable companies, said Tuesday it would restart sales of its H20 artificial intelligence semiconductors to China, having been stopped by Trump’s tightened export licensing requirements in April. CEO Jensen Huang said they would be shipping “very soon.” The news boosted tech firms around the world, with Wall Street’s Nasdaq rising to another record high, while the S&P 500 and Dow fell.
While markets are generally on an uptrend of late, Vincenzo Vedda, global chief investment officer at DWS, warned of possible bumps in the road. “The short-term future could… hold a significant market correction since prevailing risk factors have not suddenly disappeared after all,” he wrote in a commentary. “Trump’s Beautiful Big Bill will inflate the US budget deficit, and long-term interest rates are set to rise. Tariffs are not completely off the table, either driving or containing inflation — the latter if economic growth is dampened. Substantial geopolitical risks are an additional factor.”
– Key figures at around 0810 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 39,663.40 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,517.76 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,503.78 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,945.78
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1620 from $1.1606 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3392 from $1.3383
Dollar/yen: UP at 148.88 yen from 148.85 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.75 pence from 86.69 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $66.71 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $68.76 per barrel
New York – Dow: DOWN 1.0 percent at 44,023.29 (close)
© 2024 AFP
