Tokyo's Nikkei leads Asian rally after Japan-US trade deal
Despite a lack of deals being made leading up to Trump's self-imposed August 1 cut-off date, equity markets have been on the march in recent weeks on optimism that governments will eventually get over the line.
Japan had been one of those yet to sign, despite a string of trips to Washington by trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa, dampening investor sentiment in Tokyo.
But Trump said Tuesday that officials had agreed to a "massive" deal that would include a 15 percent tariff on imports from Japan, down from the previously threatened 25 percent.
The pact also saw the 25 percent levy on autos -- a major export to the United States -- slashed to 15 percent.
"We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made," Trump announced on his Truth Social platform.
"Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits."
He did not provide further details on the investment plan, but claimed the deal "will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs."
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that he needed to examine the deal before commenting.
Akazawa wrote on X: "Mission accomplished."
Traders poured back into the market, pushing the Nikkei up more than two percent thanks to soaring automakers.
Tokyo and Mitsubishi rocketed around 12 percent and Nissan jumped more than nine percent.
The yen strengthened to 146.20 per dollar -- compared with close to 148 Tuesday. The unit had already enjoyed a recent tick-up after Ishiba vowed to remain in office despite a devastating weekend election loss.
Trump also hailed an agreement with Manila that will see the toll on Philippine goods lowered by one percentage point to 19 percent, while tariffs on Indonesia were slashed from 32 percent to 19 percent.
Shares in Manila and Jakarta rose.
The announcements boosted hopes that other deals could be in the pipeline before next Friday's deadline, though talks with the European Union and South Korea remain elusive for now.
Still, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week for talks, as a separate mid-August deadline approaches for US levies on Beijing to snap back to steeper levels.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong built on its 2025 surge to hit its highest level since late 2021, while Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Taipei were also well up. Seoul was flat and Wellington dipped.
The advances came after a broadly positive day on Wall Street where the S&P 500 hit another peak but the Nasdaq snapped a six-day streak of records.
Eyes are also on the release of earnings from Google parent Alphabet and other tech giants including Tesla and Intel.
Key figures at around 0200 GMT
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.7 percent at 40,868.01
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 25,287.68
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,599.20
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.50 yen from 146.66 yen Tuesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1740 from $1.1755
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3525 from $1.3532
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.80 pence from 86.84 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $68.79 per barrel
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Volkswagen takes 1.3-bn-euro hit from Trump tariffs
Overall net profit fell 38.5 percent year-on-year during the period to hit 7.28 billion euros ($8.54 billion). Higher-sales of lower-margin electric vehicles (EVs) as well as restructuring costs hit the result in addition to the tariffs, Volkswagen said. Finance chief Arno Antlitz said Volkswagen was nevertheless "on the right track" and that performance was at the "upper end of expectations", if tariffs and restructuring costs are excluded. The firm struck an unprecedented deal with unions last December to cut 35,000 jobs in Germany by 2030 as part of plans to save 15 billion euros a year. The 10-brand group also cut its revenue and profit outlook, warning of "political uncertainty and increased barriers to trade" for the remainder of the year. It now forecasts a profit margin for the year of between 4 and 5 percent, down from 5.5 to 6.5 percent previously, amounting to billions of euros for the firm. The range assumes that the United States will continue to levy tariffs of 10 percent on imported cars in the best case and stick to its current rate of 27.5 percent in the worst, Volkswagen said. Volkswagen's previous guidance, released in April shortly after new US tariffs took effect, did not take the increased duties into account. Sales by volume in North America fell 16 percent "mainly due to tariffs" in the first half even as they rose slightly worldwide, Volkswagen said. Trump in April slapped an additional 25-percent levy on imported cars as part of an aggressive trade policy he says will help boost US manufacturing. That has hit European carmakers. French group Stellantis -- whose brands include Jeep, Citroen and Fiat -- said on Monday that North American vehicle sales by volume plunged 25 percent in the second quarter of the year. US and European Union diplomats are currently negotiating ahead of the latest deadline set by Trump, with Trump threatening a blanket duty of 30 percent after August 1 if no agreement is reached.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Trump trip to Scotland combines diplomacy and golf
The president is expected to split his time between two seaside golf courses bearing his name, Turnberry and Aberdeen. Trump is due to arrive in Scotland Friday at 8:20 pm local time (1920 GMT) and has no public events scheduled for Saturday or Sunday, the White House said. An avid golfer, Trump is expected to tear himself away from the greens to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at some point, but details of that meeting have not been released. Starmer is not reputed to be as passionate about golf as the 79-year-old Republican, and may have other concerns to tee off on. The US and the UK announced a trade agreement in May, but London is worried about Trump's stated intention to "refine" the deal. The British leader, who has dodged the exorbitant tariffs other countries have been saddled with, will aim to stay in the good graces of the unpredictable American leader. Trump is also expected to return to the UK in September for a state visit -- his second -- at the invitation of King Charles III, which promises to be lavish. Trumpist discontent The trip to Scotland puts physical distance between Trump and the latest twists in the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier accused of sex trafficking who died in prison in 2019 before facing trial. In his heyday, Epstein was friends with Trump and others in the New York jet-set, but the president is now facing backlash from his own MAGA supporters who demand access to the Epstein case files. Many support a conspiracy theory under which "deep state" elites protected rich and famous people who took part in an Epstein sex ring. But Trump is urging his supporters to move on and drop the case. The Wall Street Journal, which published an article detailing longstanding links between Trump and the sex offender, is being punished by the White House. Its reporting staff plans to travel to Scotland on its own and join the White House press pool. But it has now been denied a seat on Air Force One for the flight back home. Protests During a previous visit in 2023, Trump said he felt at home in Scotland, where his mother Mary Anne MacLeod grew up before emigrating to the United States at age 18. The affection is not necessarily mutual in Scotland, where protests are planned Saturday in Edinburgh and Aberdeen to oppose his visit. A significant police presence will be deployed. Residents, environmentalists and elected officials have also voiced discontent over the Trump family's construction of a golf course in Balmedie, a village in Aberdeenshire. While Trump's family has undertaken many development projects worldwide, the president no longer legally controls the family holdings. But opponents and watchdog groups have accused him of many conflicts of interest and using his position as US president to promote private family investments, especially abroad. The American NGO Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said in May that 21 development projects were already underway abroad during Trump's second term. The group also noted that the Trump Organization revised its own ethical charter in January to remove any prohibition from launching new international ventures with private actors, departing from the moratorium it had imposed during Trump's first term.
AFP
6 hours ago
- AFP
Image of 'Alligator Alcatraz' is AI-generated
"Alligator Alcatraz, Trump's new illegal immigration prison deep in the Everglades," reads a post sharing the image on July 2, 2025 to an Australia-based Facebook group with more than 114,000 followers. Image Screenshot of the false post shared on Australian social media. The image was captured on July 22, 2025, and the red cross was added by AFP. The same image was shared by other Facebook users around the world, including in the United States, Canada and Greece. It did not just stay on social media -- several websites also published the image alongside articles about Trump's visit. The image circulated as Trump toured a new migrant detention centre in Florida in early July (archived here and here). The new facility, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz", is built at the disused Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport deep in the Everglades, surrounded by swamps that are home to creatures including alligators and poisonous snakes. is a reference to Alcatraz Island, the former prison in San Francisco. of the Trump administration's determination to look tough as it pursues its policy of mass deportations of undocumented migrants. Some users in Australia appear to believe the image is genuine. "I wish the Australian government would put their foot down on immigration. Love this idea," a user wrote. Another commented, "That is A Huge Active Moat! surrounding it. At Their Peril if they try to Escape!" Inauthentic picture But the image is not a genuine depiction of the Florida detention centre, according to satellite images from Google Maps, which depict the location without a moat (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison between the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Florida shown on Google Maps (left) and the image shared on social media (right). The red cross was added by AFP. The images were captured on July 23, 2025. Pictures taken by AFP photographer Chandan Khanna on July 7, 2025 showing aerial views of the detention facility and its surrounding area also bear no resemblance to the circulated image. Image Comparison between an aerial view of the migrant detention center taken on July 7, 2025 by AFP photographer Chandan Khanna (left) and the image shared on social media (right). The red cross was added by AFP. Image Comparison between an aerial view of the migrant detention center taken on July 7, 2025, by AFP photographer Chandan Khanna (left) and the image shared on social media (right). The red cross was added by AFP. Other media outlets also published photos and footage that do not match the AI-generated image (archived here and here). Several visual inconsistencies suggest the image is fabricated, including the shape of the reptiles in the water, making them unlikely to be alligators. It also appears that several vehicles have a crumpled appearance, while one of them -- located to the right of the image -- has a misplaced window. Image Screenshot of the AI-generated image, with some visual inconsistencies highlighted using a magnifying tool by AFP Image Screenshot of the AI-generated image, with visual items highlighted using a magnifying tool by AFP AFP Fact Check analysed the image using the Google SynthID detection tool, which identifies photos and videos generated by its AI models (archived link). The tool detected that the image was made "with Google AI" with "Very High" confidence. Image Screenshot showing the image in the interface of the SynthID detection tool AFP has fact-checked other misinformation about US politics here.
