Asia-Pacific Markets Waver Amid SCO Meeting, Tariff Ruling
HONG KONG - Asia-pacific markets presented a mixed picture Tuesday as investors digested developments from teh shanghai Cooperation Institution (SCO) summit in Tianjin and reacted too a U.S. court ruling on tariffs. The session unfolded as September began, a historically volatile month for equities.
A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday persistent that most of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs are unlawful, introducing fresh uncertainty into international trade. Simultaneously, U.S. President Trump stated via Truth Social that India had offered to reduce its tariffs on U.S.imports to zero, adding, “They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago,” and characterizing the U.S.-India relationship as “one sided.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.59%, and the Topix index gained 0.66%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.73%, with the Kosdaq adding 0.49%. South Korean consumer prices increased 1.7% year-on-year in August, slowing from 2.1% in July – a pace weaker than the 2% forecast by Reuters economists.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index remained flat, while mainland China’s CSI 300 edged down 0.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also finished unchanged. Australia’s current account balance showed a deficit of AU$13.7 billion ($8.97 billion) for the April-June quarter, improving from the previous quarter’s AU$14.7 billion deficit but falling short of the anticipated AU$16 billion deficit.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian trading. U.S. markets remain closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
