Global Bourses Take A Breather After Tariff Turmoil
A rumour about a 90-day tariff pause briefly lifted markets; Nikkei jumps 6%; Markets in Europe and Asia traded higher; Wall St ended mixed
Global Bourses Take A Breather After Tariff Turmoil
Bangkok: World shares and US futures advanced Tuesday, led by gains in Tokyo where the Nikkei 225 shot up just over 6 per cent as markets calmed somewhat after the shocks from President Donald Trump ‘s tariff hikes.The modest rebound for most markets followed a wild day on Wall Street, where stocks careened after Trump threatened to crank his double-digit tariffs higher.
Early Tuesday, China’s Commerce Ministry said it would “fight to the end” and take unspecified countermeasures against the United States after Trump threatened another 50 per cent tariff on Chinese imports.
Germany’s DAX gained 0.9 per cent to 19,975.81 while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.3 per cent at 7,018.79. Britain’s FTSE 100 also picked up 1.3 per cent, to 7,804.73. The future for the S&P 500 gained 1.5 per cent early Tuesday while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.9 per cent.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed a smidgen over 6 per cent higher, at 33,012.58. Hong Kong also recovered some lost ground, but nothing close to the 13.2 per cent dive Monday that gave the Hang Seng its worst day since 1997, during the Asian financial crisis.
The Hang Seng gained 1 per cent to 20,036.03. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.4 per cent to 3,140.15 after the government investment fund Central Huijin directed state-owned companies to help support the market with share purchases. South Korea’s Kospi picked up 0.3 per cent to 2,334.23, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia climbed 2.3 per cent to 7,510.00.
Markets in Thailand and Indonesia tumbled, however, as they reopened after holidays. Trading was suspended briefly in Jakarta when the JSX index fell more than 9 per cent. It was down 7.6 per cent by mid-afternoon. Thailand’s SET lost 4.2 per cent. In Taiwan, the Taiex lost 4 per cent, pulled lower by losses for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., or TSMC, the world’s largest computer chip maker. Its shares fell 3.8 per cent on Tuesday.
On Monday, the S&P 500 sagged 0.2 per cent as shell-shocked investors watched to see what Trump will do next in his trade war.
