The Nikkei index rose 1.5% to 50,979.20 in early trading, driven by a weaker yen and a rebound in US technology stocks overnight. Positive sentiment quickly spread to semiconductor-related stocks, providing a strong boost at the market open. Kioxia Holdings shares jumped 6.0%, while SoftBank Group rose 2.5%, leading the tech sector's advance. The weaker yen also boosted exporters' prospects; USD/JPY stood at 154.03, up from 153.64 at Wednesday's close, making the earnings potential of export-based companies more attractive. Investors are now watching for performance releases and signals...
The US dollar index rose above the 104.3 mark, reaching its highest level since March 4, as investors assessed the latest PMI data and awaited further clarity on President Trump's trade policies ahead of the April 2 deadline for his reciprocal tariffs. The latest survey revealed that US business activity picked up in March, with a significant rebound in the service sector offsetting a renewed decline in manufacturing output. However, business expectations for the year ahead fell to their second-lowest level since October 2022, driven by concerns over demand, tariffs, and broader policy...
Oil prices climbed in choppy trade on Monday as investors weighed the impact of fresh U.S. sanctions on Iranian exports against talks to end the war in Ukraine, which could increase supply of Russian crude to global markets. Brent crude futures rose 36 cents, or 0.5%, to $72.52 a barrel by 1004 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 40 cents, or 0.6%, at $68.68. "Crude remains rangebound as traders continued to weigh the impact of new U.S. tariffs, the risk of an economic slowdown, as well as increased OPEC+ supply from next month and the prospect of stepped-up U.S. sanctions...
Gold's price (XAU/USD) stabilizes near $3,030 at the time of writing on Monday as traders assess fresh tariff headlines over the weekend. News emerging that the Trump administration will ease off on the broad scope of tariffs being imposed on April 2 brings sighs of relief in markets. Instead, United States (US) President Donald Trump is said to be looking for more specifically targeted tariffs on specific sectors per country or region. This helps ease the fear of broad reciprocal tariffs. The idea behind these tariffs is to get companies to reshore back to the US. However, a 25% tariff...
US Dollar (USD) inched higher as 2 Apr reciprocal tariff deadline draws nearer. Officials said that Trump will announce widespread reciprocal tariffs on nations or blocs but is set to exclude some. DXY was last at 104 levels, OCBC's FX analysts Frances Cheung and Christopher Wong note. USD may continue to be better bid in the near term "As of now, Trump administration is not planning separate, sectoral-specific tariffs to be unveiled at the same event. It was also mentioned that only countries that don't have tariffs on the US, and with whom the US has a trade surplus, will not be tariffed...
Oil prices inched up on Monday as investors weighed the impact of fresh U.S. sanctions on Iranian exports against ceasefire talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, which could lead to an increase in Russian supplies to global markets. Brent crude futures gained 4 cents at $72.2 a barrel by 0735 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $68.36. Prices fell earlier in the day. Both benchmarks settled higher on Friday and recorded a second consecutive weekly gain as fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran and the latest output plan from the OPEC+ producer group raised...