Asian stocks rose after US equities closed higher in a volatile session as investors weighed renewed US-China trade tensions. Gold advanced to a fresh all-time high.
MSCI’s gauge of regional stocks climbed 0.7%, with shares rising in Japan, Australia and South Korea. Chinese equities bucked the trend with the CSI 300 Index opening marginally lower. US stocks had a wild ride Wednesday after a rally that drove the S&P 500 up as much as 1.2%, the gauge turned lower and then eventually ended trading 0.4% up.
Gold soared above $4,225 an ounce, taking gains this year to more than 60% as trade frictions and expectations for further interest-rate cuts lured buyers. Bloomberg’s dollar index slipped for a third day, while Treasuries were little changed after two-year yields fell toward their lowest level this year in the US session.
Comments from President Donald Trump that the US was locked in a trade war with China, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s suggestion of a longer-term truce, whipsawed markets in US trading. After several months of relative calm, tensions between Washington and Beijing have flared up again, with stocks fluctuating after Friday’s selloff as dip buyers stepped in.
“I tend to think that a lot of the tit-for-tat is negotiating tactics,” said Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at AT Global Markets in Sydney. “We will continue to see volatility around all updates from both sides, but a new trend or move will not become apparent until we get clarity.”
Trump spoke just hours after Bessent dangled the possibility of extending a pause of import duties on Chinese goods for longer than three months if China halts its plan for strict new export controls on rare-earth elements.
The US and China have agreed to a series of 90-day truces since earlier this year, with the next deadline looming in November.
Traders are also piling into wagers calling for at least one outsized Federal Reserve rate cut by year—end, betting on the potential for more aggressive policy than other market watchers currently foresee.
Elsewhere, oil rose from a five-month low after Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed to halt purchases of Russian barrels, a move that could squeeze global supply.
Treasury two-year yields were little changed at 3.49% after dropping to 3.46% Wednesday, about three basis points away from the low reached during April’s tariff-fueled market chaos.
Following one of the best six-month stretches for equities since the 1950s, the market has seen brief bouts of profit-taking in a move dubbed a “healthy reset” after a torrid surge.
Those downward shifts haven’t lasted long on speculation that Fed rate cuts will keep the positive momentum going for American companies.
As the US earnings season got under way, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. jumped on solid results. Meantime, positive comments on artificial intelligence from ASML Holding NV boosted chipmakers. In late hours, United Airlines Holdings Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings.
“Investors who are buying the dip are still driving the action, keeping sentiment firm even as technical indicators show signs of strain,” said Mark Hackett, a strategist at Nationwide.
In Japan, political tensions are ramping up as ruling party leader Sanae Takaichi called on the leaders of an Osaka-based opposition party to back her in a parliamentary vote to decide the prime minister expected next week.
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