Asian shares were higher Monday, as investors continue to rejigger their read on President Donald Trump’s trade war and growing worries about slowing economies around the world.
Trump on Sunday dismissed worries about a recession, touting a strong economy. “I don’t think we’re having a recession,” he told reporters as he returned to Washington from his New Jersey golf club. “We’re doing tremendously well.”
Trump also suggested no quick end to the trade war with China, maintaining that China’s economy is struggling because of the tariffs and would like to make a trade deal with the U.S. He said he could make a “bad deal” and the stock markets would go up, “but it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.”
“I’m just not ready to make a deal yet,” Trump said. “China would like to make a deal. I’m not ready.”
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225
rose 0.6% in early trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
gained 1.6% after a massive but peaceful pro-democracy march, while the Shanghai Composite
added 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi
was 0.6% higher, and benchmark indexes in Taiwan
, Singapore
and Indonesia
all rose. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
gained 0.8%.
Among individual stocks, convenience-store chain FamilyMart
surged in Tokyo trading. SoftBank
and Mitsubishi UFJ
also rose. In Hong Kong, Sunny Optical
gained, along with property developer Country Garden
and casino operator Galaxy Entertainment
. LG Electronics
advanced in South Korea, while Taiwan Semiconductor
rose in Taiwan. In Australia, Beach Energy
surged, while Commonwealth Bank
and ANZ Banking
rose as well.
On Friday, the S&P 500
rose 41.08 points, or 1.4%, to 2,888.68. The Dow
, which had an 800-point drop earlier in the week, added 306.62 points, or 1.2%, to 25,886.01. The Nasdaq
climbed 129.38 points, or 1.7%, to 7,895.99. Each index still finished with a third-straight weekly decline.
Wall Street stocks and other investments had heaved and dropped all week, hitting a crescendo on Wednesday when a fairly reliable warning signal of recession flipped on in the U.S. Treasury market.
Investors are hoping that the Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates to shore up economic growth. The central bank lowered interest rates by a quarter-point at its last meeting. It was the first time it lowered rates in a decade.
“With global economic engines still clattering and in desperate need of some high-grade Central Bank stimulus, investors are still pinning their hopes on central bank policy,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at Valour Markets in Singapore.
Investors are also worried about Trump’s shocking announcement on Aug. 1 that he planned to extend tariffs across virtually all Chinese imports, many of them consumer products that were exempt from early rounds of tariffs. The tariffs have been delayed, but ultimately will raise costs for U.S. companies bringing goods in from China.
Benchmark crude oil
rose 43 cents to $55.30 a barrel. It rose 40 cents to settle at $54.87 a barrel Friday. Brent crude oil
, the international standard, rose 53 cents to $59.17 a barrel.
The dollar
rose to 106.40 Japanese yen from 106.24 yen Friday.
