Asian stocks cautious as tariff talk sinks copper

Shares in Japan rose and those in Australia declined while a broader gauge of Asian shares dipped 0.1%.

Asian shares started on a cautious note as investors refrained back from taking risky bets after President Donald Trump ruled out extending his August levy deadline.

Copper futures in London fell on Trump’s tariff threat.

Shares in Japan rose and those in Australia declined while a broader gauge of Asian shares dipped 0.1%. Chinese shares were in focus ahead of the release of inflation data Wednesday, with the report likely to show consumer prices fell for a fifth month in June. An index of US-listed Chinese shares gained a fifth day, its longest streak of advances since October.

Benchmark copper futures fell in London after Trump said he planned to implement a 50% tariff on imports, a move that’s likely to spark further upheaval in global metal markets. US copper prices posted a record gain in the last session on Trump’s remarks.

Trump signaled a renewed determination to push ahead with his plans to heavily tax foreign imports. He also told reporters that despite progress with the European Union on a trade deal, frustration over the bloc’s taxes and fines targeting US technology firms could result in him unilaterally declaring a new tariff rate within the next two days.

“The market’s response to this week’s barrage of tariff headlines has been one of indifference, having absorbed the lessons of Liberation Day, where timelines were extended, levy rates were reduced, and trade deals were brokered,” said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG Australia. “This indifference is expected to continue until either the hard economic data starts to turn lower or inflation spikes higher.”

Trump vowed to push forward with his aggressive tariff regime in the coming days, stressing he would not offer additional extensions on country-specific levies set to now hit in early August while indicating he could announce substantial new rates on imports of copper and pharmaceuticals.

The posturing on social media and at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday came after traders initially shrugged off a series of letters and executive actions Trump issued Monday. The president pushed back the deadline for his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs while announcing the latest rates he planned for more than a dozen countries that had not succeeded in brokering quick trade agreements.

“While tariffs will likely remain high — compared with levels at the start of the year — as will the headline risk, we think the US effective tariff rate should end the year at around 15%,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management. “This would be a headwind to growth but not enough to trigger a recession.”

She continued to recommend phasing into global equities or diversified portfolios to navigate volatility ahead.

Meanwhile, copper on the London Metal Exchange was 1.7% lower at $9,627 a ton. Contracts on the Comex climbed as much as 17% on Tuesday, a record one-day spike, before falling more than 4% in early trading on Wednesday. The New York price commanded a massive 24% premium to equivalent futures in London, the market that sets global benchmark prices.