Tokyo, Sep 16 (AP) Asian shares traded mixed on Tuesday after Wall Street set new records as investor anticipation grew that the US Federal Reserve will announce the first cut of the year on its main interest rate.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 came off a holiday to momentarily reach about 45,000 points in the morning session, then traded 0.3 per cent higher than the previous close at 44,904.13. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2 per cent to 8,871.30. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.1 per cent to 3,446.13.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.2 per cent to 26,384.95, and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4 per cent to 3,846.61. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after weekend trade talks in Spain that a framework deal had been reached between China and the US over the ownership of popular social video platform TikTok.
Bessent said after the latest round of trade talks between the world's two largest economies concluded in Madrid that US President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping would speak Friday to possibly finalize the deal. He did not disclose the terms of the deal.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.5 per cent and topped its prior all-time high, which was set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49 points, or 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.9 per cent to its own record.
Tesla helped lead the way and rose 3.6 per cent after Elon Musk bought stock worth roughly USD 1 billion through a trust. The electric vehicle company's stock price came into the day with a slight loss for the year so far, and the purchase could be a signal of Musk's faith in it.
Alphabet was the single strongest force lifting the S&P 500 after gaining 4.5 per cent, which brought the total value for Google's parent company above USD 3 trillion. Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple are the only other companies on Wall Street worth that much.
The market's main event for the week will arrive on Wednesday. That's when the Federal Reserve will announce its latest decision on interest rates. A rate cut could give a kickstart to the job market, which has been slowing.
Stocks have already run to records on the assumption that a cut is coming on Wednesday, though. Expectations are also high that the Fed will keep lowering rates through the end of this year and into 2026. That creates the possibility for disappointment in the market, which would mean drops for stock prices if the Fed doesn't end up slashing rates as aggressively as traders expect.
What's keeping the Fed on guard is a possible jump in inflation because of Trump's tariffs. That's because lower interest rates can give inflation more fuel and send it even higher. And inflation has already proven difficult to get under the Fed's 2 per cent target.
Trump, meanwhile, has pushed angrily for cuts to interest rates. He's often attacked Powell personally, nicknaming him “Too Late,” and is trying to remove one of the Fed's governors from its board.
“Too Late' must cut interest rates now, and bigger than he had in mind,” Trump wrote on his social media network on Monday, using his trademark all-caps style.
Nvidia edged down by less than 0.1 per cent after China accused the chip company of violating its antimonopoly laws. Chinese regulators did not mention a punishment for Nvidia in a one-sentence statement on the matter but did say they would carry out “further investigation.” All told, the S&P 500 rose 30.99 points to 6,615.28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 49.23 to 45,883.45, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 207.65 to 22,348.75.
In the bond market Treasury yields eased, continuing their downward run on expectations for cuts to rates by the Fed.
The next economic update will arrive Tuesday, when the US government will say how much shoppers spent at US retailers last month.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.03 per cent from 4.06 per cent late Friday.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude rose 13 cents to USD 63.43 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 13 cents to USD 67.57 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar inched down to 147.18 Japanese yen from 147.33 yen. The euro cost USD 1.1780, up from USD 1.1769.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
