Asian shares are mostly higher after China-US talks end without a trade deal
Beijing's top trade official said China and the United States agreed during two days of talks in Stockholm, Sweden, to work on extending an Aug. 12 deadline for imposing higher tariffs on each other. The U.S. side said an extension was discussed, but not decided on.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says the American team would head back to Washington and 'talk to the president about whether that's something that he wants to do.'
A Friday deadline is looming for many of Trump's proposed tariffs on other countries. Several highly anticipated economic reports are also on the way, including the latest monthly update on the job market.
'Markets had been floating on a cloud of trade optimism — first Japan, then the EU — but the sugar high is wearing off. Now, with U.S.-China talks dragging on in Stockholm, there's a growing sense that the momentum is stalling,' Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 0.3% to 25,441.64 while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.5% to 3,628.53.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index edged less than 0.1% higher to 40,687.17. Gains for electronics companies were offset by losses for major exporters like Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.6% to 8,759.20 and in South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.9% to 3,259.00.
Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.9% while the Sensex in India edged 0.1% higher.
On Tuesday, U.S. stock indexes edged back from their record levels as a busy week for Wall Street picked up momentum. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 6,370.86, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5% to 44,632.99.
The Nasdaq composite was down 0.4% at 21,098.29.
SoFi Technologies jumped 7.4%, but Merck dropped 2.2% and UPS sank 9.2% following a torrent of profit reports from big U.S. companies. They're among the hundreds of companies telling investors this week how much they made during the spring, including nearly a third of the stocks in the S&P 500 index.
UnitedHealth Group dropped 5.8% after reporting a profit for the spring that fell short of analysts' expectations. It also gave a forecast for profit over all of 2025 that investors found disappointing. The health care giant said it expected to earn at least $16 per share, when analysts were looking for something close to $20, according to FactSet.
Shares of Novo Nordisk that trade in the United States tumbled 21.3% after the Danish company cut its forecast for sales growth this year, in part because of lower expectations for its Wegovy weight-loss drug amid high competition.
Treasury yields sank as the Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting on interest rates.
Despite pressure from President Donald Trump for lower rates, which would give the economy a boost, the widespread expectation is that the Fed will wait for more data about how Trump's tariffs are affecting inflation and the economy before making its next move.
The U.S. economy appears to be slowing.
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One report on Tuesday said that U.S. employers were advertising fewer job openings at the end of June than a month before, though still more than economists expected. A separate report said confidence rose among U.S. consumers, but a measure of their expectations about the near term remains below the level that typically signals a recession ahead.
In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 7 cents to $69.28 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, was up 13 cents at $71.82 per barrel.
The dollar fell to 148.13 Japanese yen from 148.48 yen. The euro rose to $1.1554 from $1.1546.
___
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Stan Choe contributed.
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The Province
37 minutes ago
- The Province
Canada's economy is showing 'resilience' against U.S. tariffs. Why?
Published Aug 04, 2025 • 5 minute read Canadian and American flags fly near the Ambassador Bridge at the Canada-USA border crossing in Windsor, Ont. on Saturday, March 21, 2020. Photo by Rob Gurdebeke / THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — 'Some resilience' — those were the two words Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem used last week to describe how the Canadian economy is holding up under the weight of U.S. tariffs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Just a few days later, U.S. President Donald Trump added 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods to a running tally that includes hefty duties on steel, aluminum, automobiles and, more recently, semi-finished copper. With tariffs piling up over the past few months, economists say Canada's economy is starting to show cracks — but few signs of collapse. TD Bank economist Marc Ercolao conceded it's a 'bit of surprise' to see the economy holding up against a massive disruption from Canada's largest trading partner. 'Many months ago, ourselves — as well as other economic forecasters — had an outlook for a much weaker Canadian economy. Obviously, that isn't manifesting now,' he said in an interview. 'We are avoiding the worst-case scenario.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. On Thursday, Statistics Canada gave a glimpse at how the economy wrapped up the second quarter of the year when many of those tariffs came into full effect. While the agency sees a couple of small contractions in real gross domestic product by industry in April and May, its flash estimates show the economy rebounding somewhat in June. If those early readings pan out, StatCan said that would be good enough for flat growth overall on the quarter. Some of those results are distorted by volatility _ businesses rushing to get ahead of tariffs boosted activity in the first quarter, and that's giving way to weakness in the second quarter, for example. It's still hard to pinpoint exact impacts tied to tariffs, Ercolao said, but a broad trend is emerging. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'What we can say over the last six months or so is that economic activity is somewhat flatlining,' he said. Services sectors are holding up relatively well, but Ercolao said export-heavy industries such as manufacturing and transportation are bearing the brunt of the impact. In an attempt to shore up some of that weakness, the federal government has announced various programs to support tariff-affected workers and broader plans to accelerate defence and infrastructure spending. Macklem noted during his press conference Wednesday that business and consumer confidence are still low, but have improved according to the central bank's recent surveys. And while some trade-exposed sectors have faced job losses and the unemployment has generally trended upward to nearly seven per cent, employers elsewhere in the economy continue to expand their payrolls. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Consumption is still growing,' Macklem said. 'It's growing modestly. It's certainly being restrained by the uncertainty caused by tariffs. But it is growing and we expect that to continue through the third and fourth quarters.' Last week the Bank of Canada kept its policy interest rate unchanged at 2.75 per cent in a third consecutive decision. If the central bank were panicked about the Canadian economy's ability to withstand U.S. tariffs, Ercolao argued it would likely have lowered that rate. The past week's GDP readings were good enough for BMO to raise its outlook for the third quarter into positive territory. Forecasters at the bank now expect Canada will avoid a technical recession this year. BMO chief economist Doug Porter said in a note to clients Friday that Ottawa's personal tax cut at the start of the month and robust demand for domestic travel amid the trade war will boost the economy this quarter, as will 'the less-dire sentiment' around economic forecasts. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Some other forecasters continue to pencil a tariff-induced recession into their outlooks. In the Bank of Canada's monetary policy report released alongside the rate decision, it outlined one scenario for the economy assuming the tariff situation remains largely status quo. Canada avoids a recession in that outcome. Growth in 2025 and 2026 remains overall positive, but half a percentage point lower than it would've been without the weight of tariffs. Macklem told reporters that the Bank of Canada would expect the economy to keep growing even with today's tariffs in place, 'but it'll be on a permanently lower path.' 'Unfortunately, the sad reality is that tariffs mean the economy is going to work less efficiently,' he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Porter said in his note that the actual impact of Trump's new 35 per cent tariff on Canada's economy could be less than headline figure suggests. Because of a carve-out for Canadian exports that are compliant with CUSMA, BMO sees the effective U.S. tariff rate at roughly seven per cent under the new duties, less than a percentage point higher than where it stood before Friday. But with CUSMA up for renegotiation in 2026, Porter said that 35 per cent tariff rate could loom as a 'cudgel' over negotiations — taking full effect if the trade agreement expires without a new deal in place. The Bank of Canada published a separate 'escalation' scenario this week that would see the United States remove Canada's CUSMA exemption as it ramps up global tariffs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Real GDP would drop an extra 1.25 per cent by 2027 in this more severe case; Porter said that this outcome would be 'serious for sure, but far from disastrous.' Ercolao said much of the tariff doom-and-gloom earlier in the year was tied to the speed at which those import duties would be imposed. But the on-again, off-again nature of U.S. trade restrictions to date has given businesses time to adapt to the new way of doing business and constant delays in implementation, he said. 'If we go back to when Trump began his presidency, had he went 100 per cent on his tariff plan right away, we probably would have seen a deep economic contraction just because it would have been so sudden,' Ercolao explained. 'Now we've been afforded that time to at least try to mitigate some of the negative impacts from what these tariffs were expected to do to the Canadian economy.' 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Winnipeg Free Press
39 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Frequent disasters expose climate risks to infrastructure in South Asia
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Floods that damaged hydropower dams in Nepal and destroyed the main bridge connecting the country to China show the vulnerability of infrastructure and need for smart rebuilding in a region bearing the brunt of a warming planet, experts say. The flooding of the Bhotekoshi River on July 8 also killed nine people and damaged an inland container depot that was being built to support increasing trade between the two countries. The 10 damaged hydropower facilities, including three under construction, have a combined capacity that could power 600,000 South Asian homes. Another smaller flood in the area on July 30 damaged roads and structures, but caused less overall destruction. Nepal's location in the Himalayan mountains makes it especially vulnerable to heavy rains, floods and landslides because the area is warming up faster than the rest of the world due to human-caused climate change. Climate experts say the increasing frequency of extreme weather has changed the playbook for assessing infrastructure risks while also increasing the need for smart rebuilding plans. 'The statistics of the past no longer apply for the future,' said John Pomeroy, a hydrologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. 'The risk that goes into building a bridge or other infrastructure is generally based on historical observations of past risk, but this is no longer useful because future risk is different and often much higher.' While damage estimates from the July floods in the Rasuwa region are still being calculated, past construction costs give a sense of the financial toll. The Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge alone, for example, took $68 million to rebuild after it was destroyed by a 2015 earthquake that ravaged Nepal. The latest disaster has also stoked fears of long-lasting economic damage in a region north of the capital city Kathmandu that spent years rebuilding after the 2015 quake. Nepali government officials estimate that $724 million worth of trade with China is conducted over the bridge each year, and that has come to a standstill. 'Thank God there wasn't much damage to local villages, but the container depot and bridges have been completely destroyed. This has severely affected workers, hotel operators, laborers, and truck drivers who rely on cross-border trade for their livelihoods,' said Kaami Tsering, a local government official, in a phone interview with The Associated Press. Among those affected is Urken Tamang, a 50-year-old parking attendant at the depot who has been out of work for several weeks. A small tea shop he runs nearby with his family has also suffered. 'We've been unlucky,' said Tamang, a former farmer who sold his land and changed jobs when work on the depot began. He added: 'The whole area was severely damaged by the 2015 earthquake, and just when life was slowly returning to normal, this devastating flood struck.' Disasters show need for climate-resilient infrastructure The Nepal floods are the latest in a series of disasters in South Asia during this year's monsoon season. Research has shown that extreme weather has become more frequent in the region including heat waves, heavy rains and melting glaciers. Climate experts said smart planning and rebuilding in climate-vulnerable regions must include accounting for multiple risks, installing early warning systems, preparing local communities for disasters and, when needed, relocating infrastructure. 'What we have to avoid is the insanity of rebuilding after a natural disaster in the same place where it occurred and where we know it will occur again at even higher probability,' said Pomeroy, the Canadian hydrologist. 'That's a very poor decision. Unfortunately, that's what most countries do.' Before rebuilding in Rasuwa, Nepal government officials need to assess overall risks, including those due to extreme weather and climate change, said Bipin Dulal, an analyst at Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. The bridge connecting the two countries was rebuilt to better withstand earthquakes after it was destroyed in 2015, but it appears that officials didn't properly account for the risk of flooding as intense as what occurred in early July, Dulal said. 'We have to see what the extreme risk scenarios can be and we should rebuild in a way in which the infrastructure can handle those extremes,' said Dulal. Dulal said that large building projects in South Asia typically undertake environmental impact assessments that don't adequately factor in the risks of floods and other disasters. The center is developing a multi-hazard risk assessment framework that it hopes will be adopted by planners and builders in the region to better account for the dangers of extreme weather. Resilient structures can save billions in the long run In 2024 alone, there were 167 disasters in Asia — including storms, floods, heat waves and earthquakes — which was the most of any continent, according to the Emergency Events Database maintained by the University of Louvain, Belgium. These led to losses of over $32 billion, the researchers found. 'These disasters are all wake-up calls. These risks are real,' said Ramesh Subramaniam, global director of programs and strategy at the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. A CDRI analysis found that $124 billion worth of Nepal's infrastructure is vulnerable to the impacts of climate-driven disasters, creating the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual losses if the country doesn't invest in resiliency. 'Investing a relatively smaller figure now would prevent the loss of these enormous sums of damages,' said Subramaniam. Subramaniam said that most climate investments are directed towards mitigation, such as building clean energy projects and trying to reduce the amount of planet-heating gases being released. But given extreme weather damage already occurring, investing in adapting to global warming is also equally important, he said. 'I think countries are learning and adaptation is becoming a standard feature in their annual planning,' he said. Global efforts to prepare for and deal with such losses include a climate loss and damage fund set up by the United Nations in 2023. The fund currently has $348 million available, which the U.N. warns is only a fraction of the yearly need for economic damage related to human-caused climate change. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have also provided loans or grants to build climate-resilient projects. In Nepal's recently flood-ravaged region, Tsering, the local government official, said the repeated disasters have taken more than a financial toll on residents. 'Even though the river has now returned to a normal flow, the fear remains,' he said. 'People will always worry that something like this could happen again.' ___ Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India ___ Follow Sibi Arasu on X at @sibi123 ___ Follow Niranjan Shrestha on Instagram at @nirishrestha ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Why Netflix Stock Lost 13% in July
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