(Bloomberg) — Asian shares snapped a multi-day losing streak amid increased volatility ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariff rollout plan.
A regional gauge gained as much as 1.1% with stocks in Taiwan and South Korea rising the most. US equity-index futures slipped after the S&P 500 staged a late rally, showing markets remain under pressure. Gold hit a record high on demand for haven assets while the dollar strengthened marginally against most of the Group-of-10 currencies.
Traders got further details on when Trump will announce his reciprocal tariff plan — 3pm on Wednesday at an event in the White House Rose Garden — but the extent of his levies remain unclear. Ahead of the upcoming announcement, investors have refrained from taking large positions amid concerns how the tariffs will impact economic growth and inflation in the world’s largest economy.
“While Asian stocks are rebounding slightly from yesterday’s sharp selloff, they are unlikely to find a clear direction until the full extent of Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan is confirmed,” said Homin Lee, senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier Singapore Ltd. “In our view, the markets will stabilize if Trump’s plans are seen as a one-off affair and reasonably simple to comply with, but they will face pressures again if Trump fails to provide clarity in these dimensions.”
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The president has touted his April 2 announcement as a “Liberation Day,” heralding the start of a more protectionist policy meant as retribution against trading partners he has long accused of “ripping off” the US.
Trump has already placed levies on Canada, Mexico and China — the US’s three largest trading partners — as well as automobiles, steel and aluminum. Import taxes on copper could come within several weeks. Trump has also threatened duties on pharmaceutical, semiconductor and lumber imports.
After the measures are unveiled, there could be an extended period of negotiation between the US and major trading partners, and it has the potential to keep this volatility going for longer than market expects, said Sat Duhra, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors in Singapore.
Global markets are set for more volatility after US shares notched their worst quarter compared to the rest of the world since 2009. It was the first time since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 that bonds rose and stocks fell in a three-month period. The dollar, long a go-to hiding place during market selloffs, suffered the worst start to a year since 2017.
“Wall Street managed to swing into positive territory overnight. However, rather than a sign of improving sentiment, it’s little more than an indicator of the heightened volatility driving two way price action,” wrote Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com. “Attention remains fixed on the so-called ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcement.”
In Australia, the central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged in a widely expected decision, saying it wants to see more evidence that inflation is moving sustainably back to target before easing further. The Australian dollar edged higher.
In commodities, oil steadied after jumping on Monday as Trump suggested that the US may work to curtail crude shipments from Russia. Bullion inched above $3,133 an ounce for the first time, following a 1.4% surge in the previous session.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% as of 12:59 p.m. Tokyo time
- Japan’s Topix rose 0.3%
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1%
- The Shanghai Composite rose 0.6%
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.3%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0827
- The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 149.66 per dollar
- The offshore yuan fell 0.1% to 7.2742 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $82,942.93
- Ether rose 0.8% to $1,834.42
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.20%
- Australia’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.39%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $71.67 a barrel
- Spot gold rose 0.7% to $3,146.43 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Jason Scott and Chris Bourke.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
