The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.3% to above 43,500, while the Topix Index gained 0.5% to 3,122 on Monday, with both benchmarks reaching new all-time highs on the back of solid economic and corporate results. Data released Friday showed Japan's economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter, supported mainly by net exports despite pressures from US tariffs. Corporate earnings have also been broadly robust this season, further boosting investor confidence. On the global front, markets are watching the upcoming meeting in Washington between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) sticks to intraday gains led by the stronger-than-expected release of the Producer Price Index (PPI), which keeps the door open for further rate hikes by the Bank of Japan (BoJ). Furthermore, the optimism that Japan might strike a trade deal with the US turns out to be another factor underpinning the JPY. The US Dollar (USD), on the other hand, fails to capitalize on the overnight modest recovery against its Japanese counterpart and drags the USD/JPY pair drags the USD/JPY pair back below the 147.00 mark during the Asian session on Thursday. Meanwhile, hawkish BoJ...
Australian Dollar (AUD) regained its ground against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday following the news that Australia is gearing up for renewed trade negotiations with the European Union (EU). The EU decided to revisit the stalled talks. During a one-hour video meeting on Wednesday evening, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic suggested setting a new timeline to restart discussions with his Australian counterpart, Don Farrell. The previous round of extensive negotiations broke down two years ago due to disagreements over agricultural access to the EU's 450 million consumers. The AUD/USD...
The Gold price (XAU/USD) edges higher to around $3,080 during the early Asian session on Wednesday. The safe-haven demand amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and China provides some support to the precious metal. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he authorized a 90-day pause on new tariffs for most US trade partners to 10% to allow trade negotiations with those countries. However, Trump raised the tariffs imposed on imports from China to 125% "effective immediately" due to the "lack of respect that China has shown to the World's Markets." The economic...
The dollar index held steady around 102.8 on Thursday after a sharp intraday rebound in the previous session, as President Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for countries that have not retaliated. The move offered key US trading partners a window for negotiations in a welcome relief amid a dimming economic outlook. Still, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% in response to retaliatory measures from Beijing. The EU, which has announced its own countermeasures, may also be excluded from the tariff pause. While the tariff reprieve provided short-term support for...
Silver price (XAG/USD) continues to climb for the second straight day, trading near $31.10 per troy ounce during Thursday's Asian session. The grey metal surged nearly 4% in the previous session, fueled by renewed safe-haven demand following escalating US-China trade tensions. US President Donald Trump announced an immediate hike in tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%, shortly after China raised reciprocal duties on US goods to 84%. This tit-for-tat escalation overshadowed a broader trade de-escalation effort, where the US had temporarily lowered tariffs to 10% for 90 days to facilitate...