Asian shares gain after Wall Street’s rally
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
AP — Asian shares advanced Tuesday after China and the United States announced a 90-day truce in their trade war.
However, the gains were tempered by uncertainties over the longer term, as analysts warned President Donald Trump’s policies could still quickly change.
The United States and China said in a joint statement that it will cut tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent from as high as 145 percent. China, meanwhile, said its tariffs on US goods will fall to 10 percent from 125 percent.
The 90-day pause gives time for more talks following the weekend’s negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland. The US side said the talks yielded ” substantial progress.”
The outcome surpassed most expectations, reassuring investors,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
“Make no mistake, this was highly stage-managed diplomacy. But the optics are good and the implications real. It signals that even this administration recognizes the economic drag of unrelenting tariffs,” he said in a commentary.
READ: World Trade Organization chief says global free trade is in a ‘crisis’
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.8 percent to 38,326.37. Automakers were among the big gainers, with Toyota Motor Corp. up 3.7 percent and Suzuki Motor Corp. 4.6 percent higher.
Nissan Motor Co. added 3.2 percent after Japan’s national broadcaster NHK said it plans to lay off more than 10,000 of its workers, raising the total to 20,000, as part of its restructuring efforts. The company was due to announce its financial results for the last fiscal year later Tuesday.
The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.2 percent to 2,612.30.
Asian shares gain amid ‘pause and reduce’
As for other Asian shares, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7% to 23,374.06 on heavy selling of technology shares. This gained 3 percent a day earlier. That was after Chinese and US officials announced the agreement to pause tariffs and reduce them.
The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2 percent higher to 3,374.93. Taiwan’s Taiex jumped 1.9 percent.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.6 percent to 8,281.40.
On Monday, the world’s two largest economies agreed to take down temporarily most of their tariffs against each other.
The S&P 500 shot up 3.3 percent to pull back within 5 percent of its all-time high set in February. It’s been roaring higher since falling nearly 20 percent below the mark last month on hopes that President Donald Trump will lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with other countries.
Closing at 5,844.19, the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts is back above where it was on April 2. That was Trump’s “Liberation Day,” when he announced stiff worldwide tariffs that ignited worries about a potentially self-inflicted recession.
