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Wall Street pundits and investors are schizophrenic about US assets. The dollar weakened after Moody’s cut the United States’ credit rating, citing the increasing fiscal deficit, as well as the rising interest costs on government debt.On the other hand, the S&P 500 not only recovered after US President Donald Trump’s April tariff shock, but is now less than 5 per cent off its record high in February. Nevertheless, 30-year US Treasury yields recently exceeded 5 per cent per annum, indicating investors’ nervousness about US deficits and debt sustainability.While Financial Times...

Asian shares and U.S. futures slipped Thursday after U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street.Oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel. China moved to reverse some of its “non-tariff” measures against the U.S. as agreed with Washington in their temporary trade war cease-fire and most markets traded in a narrow range.Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.1%, however, to 37,705.74. Computer chip-related stocks were among the biggest decliners, with Disco Corp. falling 2.6% and Advantest down 1.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was the outlier, picking up 0.2%...

Investors worldwide are assessing the US-China deal to reduce their hefty rates of reciprocal tariffs, slashed by 115 percentage points to 10% on both sides. Aaron Hill, FP Markets' chief analyst This "marks a pivotal moment in global trade dynamics. However, the 90-day timeframe indicates these tariff cuts are a negotiation tactic rather than a permanent resolution, creating uncertainty about long-term trade policies." Kenneth Broux, Societe Generale senior FX and rates strategist "There is a de-escalation between China and U.S. resulting in a reduction of tariff on Chinese goods to...

EUR/USD slides below 1.1100 as the US Dollar rallies after the US and China agreed to lower tariffs by 115% for 90 days.The US-China temporary trade truce is expected to tame elevated consumer inflation expectations.ECB Schnabel sees no need to lower interest rates further.EUR/USD plunges below 1.1100 during European trading hours at the start of the week. The major currency pair faces an intense selling pressure as the US Dollar (USD) rallies after the United States (US) and China, in a joint statement, announced a higher-than-expected reduction in tariffs for...

Investors worldwide are assessing the US-China deal to reduce their hefty rates of reciprocal tariffs, slashed by 115 percentage points to 10% on both sides. Aaron Hill, FP Markets' chief analyst This "marks a pivotal moment in global trade dynamics. However, the 90-day timeframe indicates these tariff cuts are a negotiation tactic rather than a permanent resolution, creating uncertainty about long-term trade policies." Kenneth Broux, Societe Generale senior FX and rates strategist "There is a de-escalation between China and U.S. resulting in a reduction of tariff on Chinese goods to...

Something unusual is happening in global currency markets, and most people aren’t paying attention. This week, the Taiwan dollar surged more than 5% in a single day, recording its biggest jump since 1988. At the same time, Asian banks, exporters, and sovereign funds are increasingly trying to bypass the US dollar in their transactions. It’s not a full-blown crisis, yet, but the message is clear: confidence in the US dollar is slipping, and capital is moving.What used to be a slow drift is now turning into something larger. A big paradigm shift is...

US stock futures trod water on Friday as Wall Street digested the latest signs President Trump's trade war could be entering a more conciliatory phase as the US heads into talks with China. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) slipped roughly 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) traded broadly flat. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) tipped 0.1% higher. Markets are focused on the US-China trade talks in Geneva this weekend, following a rally in stocks on Thursday as Trump unveiled a US-UK trade deal. His administration is weighing...

Asian markets are expected to open cautiously on May 7 as investors await a crucial policy decision from the US Federal Reserve and monitor developments in global trade negotiations. Market sentiment remains fragile amid mixed economic data from China, volatile currency movements, and ongoing geopolitical tensions in South Asia. The region’s equities may see range-bound trading with pockets of volatility as traders balance optimism around easing tariffs with concerns over inflation and interest rate trajectories.On May 6, Asia-Pacific markets ended on a mixed note. Mainland China’s CSI 300 index rose...

Asian currencies turbocharged by dollar weakness are attaining rarely seen superlatives and triggering central bank intervention to curb excessive gains.The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Friday sold a record amount of local dollars to prevent its advance and protect the currency’s 42-year-old peg to the greenback. Taiwan’s central bank also intervened as its currency soared the most since 1988. The offshore yuan rallied to its strongest since November.The volatility shows how an exodus from the world’s reserve currency can ripple through financial markets, as President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies...

On President Donald Trump’s much-touted April 2 “Liberation Day,” he unveiled a range of potentially debilitating “reciprocal” tariffs on the United States’ major trading partners—and most other countries as well. Surprisingly, some of the countries facing the highest tariffs after the April announcement were U.S. partners in Asia, such as Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam; Vietnam, a huge trading partner, was hit with a 46 percent “reciprocal” tariff. Trump also put tariffs on Cambodia—a whopping 49 percent for one of East Asia’s poorest countries—and even Australia, a critical security ally...