Asian stocks rose on the last trading day of the week, taking cues from Wall Street’s overnight advance. Meanwhile, investors braced for developments on the trade front as markets awaited tariffs from the U.S. and China to take effect later on Friday.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.81 percent in Tokyo as most sectors rebounded after the benchmark’s three consecutive sessions of declines. Automakers rose 1.37 percent as major automakers gained, with Toyota Motor up 1.75 percent. Shippers and bank stocks also climbed, with the respective Topix sectors up more than 1 percent.
Other markets in the region saw slimmer gains. South Korea’s Kospi edged up by 0.15 percent and in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2 percent.
After a tense lead-up to the July 6 deadline for U.S. and China tariffs to take effect, markets will be watching for potential developments on the trade front. U.S. tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods from 818 product categories that are set to take effect at 12:01 p.m. HK/SIN. China has announced retaliatory duties on the same value of U.S. products, also expected to kick in on Friday.
Trump on Thursday said an additional $16 billion of Chinese products will be subject to tariffs in two weeks, also adding that he was considering more duties on $500 billion in Chinese goods.
The Chinese government has said that it will not “fire the first shot” in the trade dispute with the U.S. — due to time zone differences, Beijing is 12 hours ahead — so its tariffs on U.S. products will take effect only after U.S. duties are levied, Reuters reported.
Concerns about trade tensions between the U.S. and its trading partners, including China, spiraling into a trade war that could hurt economic growth have weighed on investor sentiment in Asia in recent sessions, with regional markets closing lower on Thursday. Chinese equity markets have taken a knock in recent weeks, with the benchmark Shanghai composite wallowing in bear market territory since last week.
U.S. stocks shrugged off the soggy session in Asia on Thursday to close higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.75 percent, or 181.92 points and the Nasdaq composite surged 1.12 percent.
Europe also notched gains, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 finishing the session higher by 0.41 percent amid optimism that U.S. President Donald Trump could hold off on threats to slap tariffs on European cars.
Also of note, the Federal Reserve’s latest minutes showed officials were concerned about letting the U.S. economy running too hot, as that could cause problems leading to a “significant economic downturn.” Fed officials said the central bank should proceed with raising U.S. interest rates.
Following the release of U.S. private payrolls data that missed expectations on Thursday, investors are awaiting U.S. nonfarm payrolls due during U.S. hours.
In currencies, the dollar was slightly softer. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was last at 94.383. That came as the euro firmed against the U.S. currency overnight on the back of strong German data. The euro traded at 1.1691 at 8:10 a.m. HK/SIN.
Source: cnbc china
Asian shares advance as markets await wave of US-China tariffs