Asian shares mostly slip as focus shifts to US talks with China
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped nearly 0.7% to 40,725.23. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 8,670.50. South Korea's Kospi was little changed after reversing earlier losses, edging less than 0.1% higher to 3,212.59.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.1% to 25,276.36, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 3,586.93.
Analysts said markets were watching for the latest from Trump, which are now focused on the talks with China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng were meeting in Sweden. Bessent has said the negotiations will likely lead to an extension of current tariff levels. There was no significant new information after the first day of talks.
'Aside from addressing economic imbalances, tariffs are also now well entrenched in the geo-political arena,' Tan Boon Heng of the Asia & Oceania Treasury Department at Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.
Last week, Trump announced a trade framework, placing a 15% tax on goods imported from Japan, a level far lower than the earlier 25% rate that the president had indicated. Trump also said Japan would invest $550 billion into the U.S. and open up to U.S. autos and rice. Details are still unclear, but the accord set off some momentary relief.
U.S. stock indexes drifted through a quiet Monday after the United States agreed to tax cars and other products coming from the European Union at a 15% rate, lower than Trump had threatened.
Many details of the trade deal are still to be worked out, and Wall Street is heading into a week full of potential flashpoints that could shake markets, including an interest rate decision Wednesday by the Federal Reserve.
The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that Fed officials will wait until September to resume cutting interest rates, though a couple of Trump's appointees could dissent in the vote. The Fed has been on hold with interest rates this year since cutting them several times at the end of 2024.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was nearly flat, edging up by less than 0.1% to 6,389.77 and setting an all-time high for a sixth straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% to 44,837.56, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.3% to its own record, closing at 21,178.58.
Tesla rose 3% after its CEO, Elon Musk, said it had signed a deal with Samsung Electronics that could be worth more than $16.5 billion to provide computer chips for the electric-vehicle company. Samsung's stock in South Korea jumped 6.8%.
Other companies in the chip and artificial-intelligence industries were strong, continuing their run from last week after Alphabet said it was increasing its spending on AI chips and other investments to $85 billion this year. Chip company Advanced Micro Devices rose 4.3%, and server-maker Super Micro Computer climbed 10.2%.
But an 8.3% drop for Revvity helped to keep the market in check. The company in the life sciences and diagnostics businesses reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected, but its forecast for full year profit disappointed analysts.
Companies are broadly under pressure to deliver solid growth in profits following big jumps in their stock prices the last few months. Much of the gain was due to hopes that Trump would walk back some of his stiff proposed tariffs, and critics say the U.S. stock market looks expensive unless companies will produce bigger profits.
Hundreds of U.S. companies are lined up to report how much profit they made during the spring, with nearly a third of the businesses in the S&P 500 index scheduled to deliver updates.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude inched up 1 cent to $66.72 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 6 cents to $70.10 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 148.56 Japanse yen from 148.54 yen. The euro cost $1.1600, up from $1.1593.
___
AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China's independent oil companies boost investments in Iraq
Chinese independent oil companies are intensifying their activities in Iraq, aiming to double their production to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2030, according to a Reuters report. This strategic move comes as some global majors have scaled back from these markets, which are traditionally dominated by China's state-run entities. The smaller Chinese producers, led by industry veterans, are drawn to Iraq by more attractive contract arrangements and the potential to leverage lower costs and faster project development. Geo-Jade Petroleum, United Energy Group, Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group, and Anton Oilfield Services Group have secured half of Iraq's exploration licences in recent rounds. Currently, China's CNPC is a major player, responsible for more than half of Iraq's production at large oilfields such as Haifaya, Rumaila and West Qurna 1. These companies are recognised for their rapid project execution, which appeals to the Iraqi Government. Their increasing presence signifies a shift for Iraq, which is under pressure to expedite energy projects and has previously resisted increasing Chinese influence over its oilfields. Furthermore, the agility and risk tolerance of these smaller companies allow them to develop oilfields in two to three years, significantly faster than Western counterparts. Iraq's improved political stability and investment climate are cited by executives as key factors in attracting both Chinese and Western companies. The country is seeking to significantly boost its oil output, targeting more than six million barrels per day by 2029. Iraq's shift from fixed-fee agreements to profit-sharing contracts has been instrumental in attracting Chinese independents. Geo-Jade Petroleum CEO Dai Xiaoping was quoted as saying: 'Chinese independents have much lower management costs compared to Western firms and are also more competitive versus Chinese state-run players.' Despite concerns over transparency and technical standards, the cost-effective approach of Chinese companies remains attractive to Iraq. While some Western companies are making a comeback, with TotalEnergies and bp planning significant investments, the trend of Chinese operators' expansion in Iraq's oil sector is clear. In May, a consortium spearheaded by Geo-Jade decided to fund the South Basra endeavour, encompassing the enhancement of the Tuba field in Iraq's southern region to a capacity of 100,000bpd. This included the construction of a refinery capable of processing 200,000bpd. With an investment pledge of $848m (6.09bn yuan), Geo-Jade is set to rejuvenate production at the predominantly idle field, aiming to achieve production of 40,000bpd by mid-2027. "China's independent oil companies boost investments in Iraq" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Fed Pick Could Face Resistance From Colleagues on Rates
(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump's relentless calls for dramatic reductions in interest rates, along with his ability to make changes to the Federal Reserve's leadership, is drawing more attention to the way monetary policy decisions are made — and the people who make them. PATH Train Service Resumes After Fire at Jersey City Station Mayor Asked to Explain $1.4 Billion of Wasted Johannesburg Funds Chicago Curbs Hiring, Travel to Tackle $1 Billion Budget Hole Seeking Relief From Heat and Smog, Cities Follow the Wind A close look at that group — barring additional surprise departures from the Fed — suggests the president probably won't get the outsize rate cuts he wants in 2026. Fed Governor Adriana Kugler announced last week she'll resign on Aug. 8, five months before her term was set to run out. Trump said he expects to name a replacement in the coming days. Whomever he chooses will likely be in the running to lead the US central bank when Jerome Powell's term as chair expires in May, and could set the tone for what the Trump administration wants from monetary policy. But even if the new chair agrees with Trump that borrowing costs should be much lower, changing them will require a majority on the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee. Former Fed officials and staffers say that means arguments must be based on the economy, not politics. 'Whoever is in that role as chair, their job is to build consensus among the other voters,' said Loretta Mester, former president of the Cleveland Fed. 'And it'll have to be a sound, economical rationale.' The importance of building support for a decision was on display last month, when Fed officials voted 9-2 to leave their benchmark rate unchanged. Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman — both Trump appointees — dissented in favor of a quarter-point cut. Waller and Bowman said the Fed should provide more support to a slowing labor market, but most officials, including Powell, remained wary of tariff-driven inflation. Fed chiefs are traditionally given significant deference by other policymakers in pursuing consensus, so long as they have the committee's respect. 'If the new chair is perceived as political or aligned with the administration, they may not be granted that trust immediately,' said Marc Giannoni, chief US economist at Barclays (BCS) Capital and former research director at the Dallas Fed. Fed Board All 19 policymakers participate in discussions about the economy and monetary policy, but only 12 officials vote. The seven Fed governors in Washington always vote, along with the president of the New York Fed. The remaining four votes are rotated each year among the presidents of the 11 other regional Fed banks. If Powell resigns from the board when his chairmanship ends in May 2026, as is customary, that will give Trump another opening to fill, in addition to Kugler's seat. Powell's term on the board doesn't officially expire until 2028. Replacing both Kugler and Powell would make four of seven governors Trump appointees. It's not guaranteed that all would automatically take direction from the president, though it could give the new chair a head start, Fed watchers say. 'If you have four governors all lined up on one side, that gives the chair quite a bit of momentum to get his or her way,' William Dudley, a former president of the New York Fed, said Monday on Bloomberg TV. 'But I think the Federal Reserve presidents are going to vote their conscience in terms of what's right for the macroeconomy.' Dudley is a Bloomberg Opinion contributor. While Trump has been calling for lower rates for months, Bowman and Waller backed holding rates steady — and voted in favor of such moves — through June. Waller, whose name has been floated as a potential successor for Powell, has also been a staunch defender of central bank independence. The other members of the board — Governors Michael Barr, Lisa Cook and Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, are generally viewed as neutral voices on rates. All three were appointed by former president Joe Biden. 'They will be very focused on the fundamentals, and they could be a bit of resistance if the new members of the FOMC seem to be more influenced by political desire,' said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist for Nationwide. Regional Banks Aside from New York Fed President John Williams, the regional presidents voting next year will be Cleveland's Beth Hammack, Dallas Fed chief Lorie Logan, the Minneapolis Fed's Neel Kashkari and Philadelphia's Anna Paulson. Williams, who is also vice chair of the FOMC, has often backed Powell and is viewed as a centrist. He said last week he would go into the September policy meeting with 'very much an open mind' about lowering rates, and described the labor market as 'still solid' after gradually cooling over the past year. Hammack, who voted against a rate cut in December, only her third meeting as a policymaker, has shown cautiousness over inflation and a willingness to publicly disagree with her colleagues. She said Friday that while the jobs report was 'disappointing,' she still had confidence in the Fed's decision to keep rates steady last week and believes officials are further from their inflation goal than their employment target. Logan took the helm at the Dallas Fed in 2022 after more than two decades on the markets desk at the New York Fed, where she oversaw management of the Fed's balance sheet. She said in July that officials should hold rates steady for a while longer to bring inflation closer to the 2% target. Kashkari, who previously worked for the Treasury Department under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) during the financial crisis. He said last week that the Fed is committed to making decisions based on the best data. Paulson, who started in the role in July and will be voting as a policymaker for the first time next year, was previously the director of research at the Chicago Fed, where she worked since 2001. Her career as an economist will make her more prone to taking an analytical approach to policy decisions, said Mester. 'All four of the voters coming in are particularly attuned to financial markets and would be particularly sensitive to any indication that the Fed's credibility is at risk,' said Julia Coronado, founder of the research firm MacroPolicy Perspectives and a former Fed economist. Potential Divisions Projections released in June showed 10 officials predicted at least two cuts in 2025. Those in favor of lowering rates this fall could grow after the July jobs report revealed a weaker labor market than previously thought. Additional deterioration could swing the committee in favor of more cuts. But if the new chair is unable to achieve consensus, it could lead to votes even more deeply split – a dynamic that hasn't been seen in decades. That could raise doubts in financial markets about the central bank's direction and its ability to manage inflation, potentially leading to higher long-term interest rates, said Mester. Waller has also nodded to those financial risks. If the next chair lacks credibility with markets, 'you're going to see inflation expectations spike,' Waller said in a July interview with Bloomberg TV. 'You will not get lower interest rates. You will get higher interest rates.' AI Flight Pricing Can Push Travelers to the Limit of Their Ability to Pay Russia's Secret War and the Plot to Kill a German CEO Government Steps Up Campaign Against Business School Diversity What Happens to AI Startups When Their Founders Jump Ship for Big Tech How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign up for the Yahoo Finance Morning Brief By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Marriott cuts 2025 revenue forecast on soft travel demand
(Reuters) -Hotel operator Marriott International cut its full-year revenue growth forecast on Tuesday, signaling slow travel demand in the United States amid looming economic uncertainties. American consumers have been cutting back on discretionary expenses, including travel, after U.S. President Donald Trump's shifting trade policies and the resulting trade war sparked fears of a recession. The Bethesda, Maryland-based company expects 2025 room revenue growth of 1.5% to 2.5%, with the midpoint below its previous forecast of 1.5% to 3.5% increase. Marriott has also taken a hit from lower government spending, which accounted for around 4% of its U.S. and Canada room nights in 2024. Excluding items, per-share profit for the quarter came in at $2.65, higher than the $2.50 a year ago. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
