MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian shares rose Thursday, buoyed by optimism that the U.S.-Japan tariff agreement will be followed by more trade deals.
Later Thursday, the European Central Bank was expected to hold off on making another interest rate cut as it waits to measure the size of any economic blow from higher U.S. tariffs.
Trump has sent the EU a letter laying out a 30% tariff rate, but European trade officials hope to haggle that down to as low as 10% in high-stakes trade talks ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline.
European leaders were meeting with top Chinese officials in Beijing to discuss trade, climate change and global conflicts. But observers said solid agreements were unlikely.
In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged nearly 2% to 41,983.50. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4% to 3,595.58 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.4% to 25,631,08.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.9% to 3,211.21 after central bank data showed Thursday that the country’s economy expanded at a 0.6% annual rate in the last quarter, above expectations thanks to robust private consumption and exports.
India’s BSE Sensex edged 0.7% higher to 82,726.64 and Australia’s S&P ASX 200 slid 0.1% to 8,729.20.
“Asian equities caught another updraft, rising for a sixth straight session, as whispers of broader trade accords scattered across the tape like migrating birds sensing the storm has passed,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management wrote in a commentary.
“With the ink barely dry on the U.S.-Japan tariff truce — inked at a palatable 15% — traders are already scanning the horizon for the next deal to surface. Europe? Maybe. India? China? Everyone? Perhaps. But the mood is pure Electric Avenue,” he added.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks set more records following a trade deal between the world’s No. 1 and No. 4 economies, one that would lower proposed tariffs on Japanese imports coming to the United States.
The S&P 500 added 0.8% to its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 507 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6% to hit its own record.
Stocks jumped even more in Tokyo on Wednesday, where the Nikkei 225 rallied 3.5% after President Donald Trump announced a trade framework that would place a 15% tax on imports coming from Japan. That’s lower than the 25% rate that Trump had earlier said would kick in on Aug. 1.
Trump has proposed stiff taxes on imports from around the world, which carry the double-edged risk of driving up inflation for U.S. households while slowing the economy. But many of Trump’s tariffs are currently on pause, giving time to reach deals with other countries that could lower the tax rates. Trump also announced a trade agreement with the Philippines on Tuesday.
So far, the U.S. economy has seemed to hold up OK despite the pressures on it. And tariffs already in place may be having less of an effect than expected, at least when it comes to the prices that U.S. households are paying at the moment.
In other dealings on Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil added 22 cents to $65.47 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 21 cents to $68.72 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 146.03 against the Japanese yen from 146.51. The euro rose to $1.1781 from $1.1777.
__ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
