Asian Stocks Rise Following 90-Day Tariff Relief – Asia Market Wrap

Most Asian stock markets rose, following a rally in US equities, on optimism the US-China trade truce marks the end to an all-out tariff war.

Japanese shares led gains in the region, with the Topix rising for a 13th day, while benchmark indexes also advanced in Australia and Taiwan. The Hang Seng Index slipped with US stock futures after both had jumped on Monday. Treasuries edged higher in Asia, while the dollar fell.

The broad return of risk appetite comes after trade negotiators from the world’s two biggest economies announced Monday a de-escalation in tariffs. In a carefully coordinated joint statement, the US slashed duties on Chinese products to 30% from 145% for a 90-day period, while Beijing dropped its levy on most goods to 10%.

Optimism over the US-China talks saw the S&P 500 Index close 3.3% higher Monday, above where it was when President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2. A surge in big tech shares put the Nasdaq 100 back into a bull market just about a month after it plunged 20% from a previous record high.

Still, the reverberations of Trump’s trade war are likely to keep affecting global markets for months. In Japan, Prime Minister Ishiba said Monday his government won’t accept any initial trade agreement with the US that excludes an accord on autos.

In China, the sense of relief has started to fizzle as some investors saw the agreement reducing the prospect that Beijing will ramp up economic stimulus. Others start to recalculate the economic impact of the tariffs to come. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped as much as 1.9% after surging 3% in Monday. The CSI 300 Index was little changed in its first reaction to the trade truce.