Asia: Stocks mixed as traders shrug at US-Vietnam trade deal
Attention was also on Washington as Republicans struggled to push Donald Trump's tax-slashing budget bill through the House of Representatives amid warnings it will inflate an already ballooning national debt.
While the Vietnam agreement provided hope that other governments can reach agreements with Washington, dealers were cautious as it emerged that the country must still pay tolls of as much as 40 per cent for certain exports.
With less than a week left until the US president's July 9 deadline to hammer out pacts to avoid his 'reciprocal' levies, just three countries have done so - stoking worries his 'Liberation Day' measures will kick in and spark fresh market turmoil.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: 'It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after speaking with To Lam, the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.'
He said that under the 'Great Deal of Cooperation', imports of Vietnamese goods will face a 20 per cent US tariff, while goods that pass through Vietnam to circumvent steeper trade barriers - so-called 'transshipping' - will see a 40 per cent tariff.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
The news means Hanoi will avoid paying the 46 per cent tolls initially applied on the April 2 tariff blitz, though the cost of goods going into America will still surge.
Hanoi traders were unimpressed, with the Vietnamese capital's stock market down in early trade.
A third record close in four days for Wall Street's S&P 500 and Nasdaq also did little to lift buying sentiment elsewhere in Asia, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Wellington all falling.
Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta edged up.
Trump said this week he will not push back his deadline to make more deals though he and some of his officials have said a number were in the pipeline.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday his administration was doing its 'utmost' to secure an agreement.
However, he warned that 'it's certainly not easy, that much is clear. And to be honest, I can't say with confidence that we'll be able to wrap everything up' by the deadline.
The dollar continued to struggle as traders boosted rate cut bets after data showed the private sector unexpectedly shed jobs last month for the first time since March 2023, suggesting the labour market was slackening.
The reading came a day before the much-anticipated non-farm payrolls report that is used by the Fed to guide policy.
Traders widely expect the bank to cut rates twice this year but there is growing speculation that it could make three, with one possibly at the July meeting.
'Payrolls is the focus (Thursday), where consensus is for a 110,000 payrolls gain and a slight lift in the unemployment rate to 4.3 per cent,' said National Australia Bank's Taylor Nugent.
'It would take more than that to dent (policy board) members' comfort (that) the labour market is resilient enough to wait beyond July for more clarity on inflation and the outlook.'
Meanwhile, US Treasury yields rose amid fresh worries in the bond market over Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' that cuts taxes as well as spending on programmes such as Medicaid.
Independent analysis suggests it will add US$3 trillion to the already-colossal US debt mountain, which observers warn could deal a fresh blow to the world's top economy. AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
31 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
Eyeing Arctic dominance, Trump bill earmarks $11 billion for US Coast Guard icebreakers, World News
LOS ANGELES — President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill earmarks more than US$8.6 billion (S$11 billion) to increase the US Coast Guard icebreaker fleet in the Arctic, where Washington hopes to counter rising Russian and Chinese dominance. The funding includes $4.3 billion for up to three new heavy Coast Guard Polar Security Cutters, $3.5 billion for medium Arctic Security Cutters, and $816 million for procurement of additional light and medium icebreaking cutters. The cutters will have reinforced hulls and specially angled bows designed for open-water icebreaking. The Coast Guard had been seeking eight to nine Arctic-ready icebreakers. Its current fleet now just includes three. Trump has been pushing to revive US shipbuilding to counter China's growing strength in maritime manufacturing and naval dominance. Earlier this year, he unveiled separate plans to levy fees and tariffs on Chinese ships and port equipment including ship-to-shore cranes to bolster that effort. As climate change shrinks polar ice packs, Arctic seas are increasingly being considered as trade routes connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to major economies. China and Russia have been working together to develop Arctic shipping routes and fortify their defences. The United States, Canada and Finland last year announced a trilateral partnership called the "ICE Pact" to build a fleet of 70 to 90 ice-breaking ships over the coming decade to "project power" into the polar region and enforce international norms and treaties. Trump has also repeatedly called for the United States to acquire as many as 40 new icebreakers to enhance national security in the Arctic. Those icebreakers could help companies with logistics and keep open supply lines for potential oil and gas and mineral development in the rugged and frigid region. Russia has the world's largest fleet of icebreakers and ice-capable patrol ships with 57, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. China has a far smaller fleet, but is also investing in growing it. The two countries in May pledged to raise co-operation to a new level and "decisively" counter US influence. Who builds them? Louisiana-based shipbuilders Bollinger Shipyards and Edison Chouest Offshore in May announced a strategic partnership called United Shipbuilding Alliance (USA) to manufacture icebreakers to meet "urgent Arctic operational needs". USA will bid to build icebreakers for the Arctic Security Cutter programme, a Bollinger spokesperson said. The Coast Guard recently gave Bollinger the green light to begin full construction of the first ship in the Polar Security Cutter Program at its Pascagoula, Mississippi, facility. That project, which ran into trouble with a shipbuilder Bollinger purchased, had been "plagued by delays and cost overruns," the Congressional Budget Office said in an August report. At that time, CBO estimated that building all three new Polar Security Cutters on the Coast Guard wishlist would cost $5.1 billion in 2024 dollars, roughly 60 per cent more than the Coast Guard had estimated. Other potential icebreaker builders include Quebec-based Davie Shipbuilding, which in June announced plans to buy Gulf Copper & Manufacturing's shipbuilding assets in Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas. "We welcome the commitment to strengthen America's icebreaker fleet," a Davie spokesperson said. "This is a vital step in addressing growing threats and emerging opportunities in the Arctic." Singapore-based Keppel's Keppel Amfels also has a presence in Texas. Shipyards in Canada or Finland could also provide the ships, but that would require a presidential waiver for the US Coast Guard to buy ships from a foreign yard, US Naval Institute News said. The Coast Guard recently took possession of its first polar icebreaker in 25 years. Built by Edison Chouest Offshore's North American Shipbuilding in 2012, according to LSEG data, the modified Coast Guard Cutter Storis set sail in June and its home port will be Juneau, Alaska. The polar fleet also includes the 399-foot heavy icebreaker Polar Star, and the 420-foot medium icebreaker Healy, according to its website. [[nid:715033]]
Straits Times
38 minutes ago
- Straits Times
World's biggest climate fund ramps up investment plans
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The GCF board also approved plans to speed up its work with partner organisations. LONDON - The world's biggest multilateral climate fund said it will make its largest ever series of investments and speed up dealmaking as it looks to help poorer nations respond to global warming. The Green Climate Fund's (GCF) plan to release about US$1.2 billion (S$1.53 billion) for 17 projects mostly in Asia and Africa follows approval by shareholders including the United States at a meeting this week, against a fractious political backdrop that has seen development aid slashed. Official development assistance could fall 17 per cent in 2025, after a 9 per cent drop in 2024, the OECD said in a June report, led by hefty cuts to US aid by President Donald Trump . 'At a time when collective climate action is more needed than ever, GCF is stepping up to deliver on its mandate,' GCF Co-Chair Seyni Nafo said in a statement. The GCF disbursement includes US$227 million for an initiative to expand green bond markets in 10 countries. Green bond markets are where companies raise capital for projects that limit climate change or otherwise benefit the environment. In South Asia, it will invest US$200 million in the India Green Finance Facility to scale renewables and energy efficiency, while in East Africa it will invest US$150 million in the food system to support nearly 18 million people. All the projects will bring the GCF investment portfolio to US$18 billion across 133 countries. So far, countries have pledged US$29.9 billion to the GCF and paid in US$21 billion. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4 Asia Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region World Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending Bill wins congressional approval World Trump eyes simple tariff rates over complex talks, says letters will start going out on July 4 Sport A true fans' player – Liverpool supporters in Singapore pay tribute to late Diogo Jota Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Singapore Universities like NUS need to be open, to become a sanctuary for global talent: Vivian Balakrishnan Singapore 193ha of land off Changi to be reclaimed for aviation park; area reduced to save seagrass meadow As well as releasing more money, the GCF board also approved plans to speed up its work with partner organisations, which can include accredited entities like other multilateral lenders and so-called Direct Access Entities (DAE) in developing countries. From an average 30 months to accredit a DAE, the aim is to shorten the time to nine months or less by overhauling its procedures, including carrying out much of the due diligence at the project stage. REUTERS
AsiaOne
44 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
No progress at all, Trump says after phone call with Putin, World News
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (July 3) that a phone call earlier in the day with Vladimir Putin resulted in no progress at all on efforts to end the war in Ukraine, while a Kremlin aide said the Russian president reiterated that Moscow would keep pushing to solve the conflict's "root causes". The two leaders did not discuss a recent pause in some US weapons shipments to Kyiv during the nearly hour-long conversation, according to a readout provided by Putin aide Yuri Ushakov. US attempts to end Russia's war in Ukraine through diplomacy have largely stalled, and Trump has faced growing calls — including from some Republicans — to increase pressure on Putin to negotiate in earnest. Within hours of the call's conclusion, an apparent Russian drone attack sparked a fire in an apartment building in a northern suburb of Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said, indicating little change in the trajectory of the conflict. In Kyiv itself, Reuters witnesses reported explosions and sustained heavy machine-gun fire as air defence units battled drones over the capital, while Russian shelling killed five people in the eastern part of the country. "I didn't make any progress with him at all," Trump told reporters in brief comments at an air base outside Washington, before departing for a campaign-style event in Iowa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meanwhile, told reporters in Denmark earlier in the day that he hopes to speak to Trump as soon as Friday about the ongoing pause in some weapons shipments, which was first disclosed earlier this week. Trump, speaking to reporters as he left Washington for Iowa, said "we haven't" completely paused the weapons flow but blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for sending so many weapons that it risked weakening US defences. "We're giving weapons, but we've given so many weapons. But we are giving weapons. And we're working with them and trying to help them, but we haven't. You know, Biden emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves," he said. The diplomatic back-and-forth comes as the US has paused shipments of certain critical weapons to Ukraine due to low stockpiles, sources earlier told Reuters, just as Ukraine faces a Russian summer offensive and increasingly frequent attacks on civilian targets. Putin, for his part, has continued to assert he will stop his invasion only if the conflict's "root causes" have been addressed — Russian shorthand for the issue of Nato enlargement and Western support for Ukraine, including the rejection of any notion of Ukraine joining the Nato alliance. Russian leaders are also angling to establish greater control over political decisions made in Kyiv and other Eastern European capitals, Nato leaders have said. The pause in US weapons shipments caught Ukraine off-guard and has generated widespread confusion about Trump's current views on the conflict, given his statement just last week that he would try to free up a Patriot missile defence system for use by Kyiv. Ukrainian leaders called in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington, and caution that the pause in US weapons shipments would weaken Ukraine's ability to defend against intensifying Russian air strikes and battlefield advances. The Pentagon's move has meant a cut in deliveries of the Patriot defence missiles that Ukraine relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Ushakov, the Kremlin aide, said that while Russia was open to continuing to speak with the US, any peace negotiations needed to occur between Moscow and Kyiv. That comment comes amid some indications that Moscow is trying to avoid a trilateral format for any potential peace negotiations. The Russians asked American diplomats to leave the room during such a meeting in Istanbul in early June, Ukrainian officials have said. Trump and Putin did not talk about a face-to-face meeting, Ushakov said. [[nid:719809]]
