BANGKOK (news agencies) — Shares were mixed in Asia on Tuesday, with Chinese markets retreating, following a broad rally on Wall Street fueled by hopes the Trump administration may take a more targeted approach as it tees up a new round of tariffs on imported goods next week.
U.S. futures edged lower and oil prices were little changed.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% to 37,780.54, while the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.6% to 2,615.81.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 2.1% to 23,402.56 as heavy selling of tech-related shares pulled the benchmark lower.
Cell phone maker Xiaomi’s Hong Kong-traded shares dropped 5.9% and delivery app company Meituan lost 4.2%. E-commerce giant Alibaba was down 3.5%.
The Shanghai Composite index was unchanged at 3,369.98.
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.8% and the SET in Thailand lost 0.5%.
Stocks have been riding waves of hope and worry as President Donald Trump has announced and then amended plans on higher tariffs. A new round of tariffs is scheduled for April 2, but Trump has been somewhat closely guarded about his plans, saying Monday that even though he wants to charge “reciprocal” rates — import taxes to match the rates charged by other countries — that “we might be even nicer than that.”
Other comments have provided less reassurance and in recent days, Chinese markets that had been riding high have pulled back. In a Truth Social post, Trump said Venezuela has been “very hostile” to the U.S. and countries purchasing its oil will be forced to pay a 25% tariff on all exports to the U.S. starting April 2.
That would likely more than double the already high tariffs facing China, which in 2023 bought 68% of the oil exported by Venezuela, according to a 2024 analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. also imports oil from Venezuela.
On Monday, the S&P 500 jumped 1.8%. to 5,767.57, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4% to 42,583.32. The Nasdaq composite closed 2.3% higher, at 18,188.59.
Despite the gains, the benchmark S&P 500 has lost 1.9% so far this year out of concerns that a trade war could hinder economic growth and increase inflationary pressures.
Gains on Monday were broad, with 84% of stocks within the S&P 500 ending higher. Nearly every sector within the index rose.
Technology stocks helped lead the way. The stocks are among the most valuable on Wall Street and tend to have an outsized impact on the broader market’s direction.
Nvidia rose 3.2% and Apple added 1.1%.
Tesla climbed 11.9% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. The electric vehicle maker is still down about 31% for the year.
Wall Street has several economic updates this week. Business group The Conference Board releases its consumer confidence survey for March on Tuesday. On Friday, the U.S. government releases the personal consumption expenditures price index for February, a measure of inflation closely watched by the Federal Reserve.
The Fed started cutting its benchmark interest rate at the end of 2024 but is cautious about inflation, which is just above its 2% goal. Those cuts came after the central bank raised interest rates in order to cool inflation from a two-decade high.
Lower interest rates can ease borrowing costs and help give the economy a boost, but they can also push inflation higher.
In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 13 cents to $69.24 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 13 cents, to $72.50 per barrel.
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