Asian stocks value climb as US signals tariff relief and fed stability
Asian markets rose on Wednesday, encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s reassurance that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will remain in his position.
The Indian equity benchmarks opened on a positive note on Wednesday, with the BSE Sensexcrossing 80,200 and trading at 80,140.02, up 544 points or 0.68 percent, as of 9.21 AM. The Nifty50 also advanced, reaching 24,326.10, up 159 points or 0.66 percent. The rally was supported by continued foreign institutional investor (FII) buying, with net purchases worth Rs 1,290 crore on Tuesday.Positive sentiment was also driven by accommodative measures from the Reserve Bank of India and optimism over potential India-US trade agreements. Global cues were favorable after US President Donald Trump reassured markets by expressing support for the Federal Reserve Chair and indicating a possible easing inUS-China trade tensions. Despite global uncertainty and regional instability, Indian markets remained resilient. Experts suggest staying invested in high-quality large-cap stocks while remaining cautious of potential profit booking as markets approach overbought levels.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo climbed 1.7 percent to 34,797.22, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.6 percent to 7,943.00. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.2 percent to 2,515.19, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.7 percent to 21,927.92. The Shanghai Composite remained largely unchanged at 3,298.33.
Trump addressed speculation about Powell’s job security on Tuesday, stating, “I have no intention of firing him.” Investor confidence also got a boost from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who indicated that the current trade tensions with China are unsustainable and signaled possible relief from tariffs.
US stock markets rebounded sharply on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 2.5 percent to 5,287.76, the Dow Jones surged 1,106.57 points to 39,186.98, and the Nasdaq gained 2.7 percent to close at 16,300.42. Analysts cautioned that volatility may persist, depending on the outcome of ongoing trade negotiations. The IMF, meanwhile, downgraded its global growth forecast from 3.3 percent to 2.8 percent, citing trade uncertainties.
Positive corporate earnings reports helped support Wall Street’s rally. Elon Musk’s announcement of renewed focus on Tesla operations lifted investor mood, even as the company continues to face protests, vandalism, and boycotts due to Musk’s role in advising government spending cuts. Tesla’s after-hours earnings showed a drop in profits to 409 million dollars from 1.39 billion, falling short of analyst expectations.
Earlier, Trump had also signaled de-escalation in the ongoing trade war with China claiming that he’ll lower tariffs “significantly”.
“145% is very high, and it won’t be that high,” Trump said. “No, it won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero ‒ used to be zero. We were just destroyed. China was taking us for a ride.”“We’re going to be very nice, they’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens. But ultimately,” he added, “they have to make a deal because otherwise they’re not going to be able to deal in the United States.”
Bond markets stabilized, with yields on the 10-year US Treasury note falling to 4.39 percent from 4.42 percent the day before. In energy markets, US crude rose 1.23 dollars to 64.31 dollars per barrel, while Brent crude increased 44 cents to 67.88 dollars.
In currency markets, the US dollar weakened to 141.85 yen from 142.37 yen, while the euro strengthened slightly to 1.1397 dollars from 1.1379.
