Asia shares mostly rise on Wednesday, as investors shrugged off a weak lead from Wall Street, amid rising trade tensions, disappointing economic data, and mixed corporate earnings On the trade front, Trump also threatened tariffs of up to 250% on pharmaceutical imports, along with possible levies on semiconductors. Gold traded around $3,375 per ounce on Wednesday, holding most of its recent gains and remaining near a two-week-high. Japan ( NKY:IND ) rose 0.49% to around 40,580 on Wednesday, while the broader Topix Index gained 0.8% to 2,960, marking a second straight day of gains for Japanese equities. The Japanese yen weakened to around 147.7 per dollar on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session, as disappointing wage data fueled renewed economic concerns. Japan's nominal wages rose 2.5% year-on-year in June 2024, the fastest pace in four months but below market expectations of 3.2%. Meanwhile, minutes from the BOJ’s June meeting indicated policymakers remain open to further tightening if trade tensions ease. China ( SHCOMP ) rose 0.27% to around 3,620, while the Shenzhen Component also added 0.1% to 11,120 on Wednesday amid growing optimism over US-China trade talks, and the offshore yuan fell to around 7.19 per dollar on Wednesday, as investors responded cautiously to the latest updates on the US-China trade truce. Caution also prevailed ahead of China’s July trade data and CPI/PPI readings. However, further losses were limited after U.S. President Trump said Washington and Beijing are “very close” to extending their trade truce, set to expire on August 12. He also indicated plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping once negotiations conclude, likely before year-end. Hong Kong ( HSI ) rose 0.03% to 24,851 on Wednesday morning deals, snapping a two-day winning streak amid weakness in tech, consumer, and financial sectors. India ( SENSEX ) fell 0.14% The Reserve Bank of India maintained its key repo rate at 5.50% during its August meeting, keeping a neutral stance, following a larger-than-expected 50 bps in June, as widely expected. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to "very substantially" raise tariffs on India within 24 hours, criticizing India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. While India is expected to offer the US “zero tariffs” in a potential trade deal, Trump said that “would not be good enough.” Australia ( AS51 ) rose 0.63% to above 8,810 on Wednesday, extending the prior session’s record close to a new all-time high, as growing expectations of domestic and global rate cuts continued to boost the index. The Australian dollar strengthened to around $0.648 on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session. The Ai Group Industry Index for Australia's manufacturing sector rose by 4.9 points to -23.9 in July. The Ai Group Australian Industry Index rose by 5.8 points to -3.2 in July, marking its strongest reading in three years. In the U.S., on Tuesday, all three major indexes ended lower as investors grappled with downbeat economic data, rising trade tensions, and mixed corporate earnings. In addition, Trump said he would name a nominee to fill a vacancy on the Fed’s Board of Governors by week’s end and is narrowing down candidates to potentially replace Chair Jerome Powell. U.S. stock futures rose on Wednesday as investors digested a new wave of corporate earnings: Dow +0.29% ; S&P 500 +0.25% ; Nasdaq +0.14% . Attention now turns to earnings reports due later in the day from Uber, McDonald’s, Disney, Airbnb, and DoorDash, among others. Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: China’s services sector expands at fastest pace in 14 months in July to 52.6 Japan's services growth accelerates in July, BOJ signals openness to rate hikes Australia's services sector growth jumps to 16-month high in July Australia's Q2 producer price index rises 0.7%, following soft consumer inflation report China's manufacturing sector contracts unexpectedly in July to 49.5
