CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, amid renewed uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies after he again extended the implementation of new reciprocal tariffs until at least August 1. Japan is facing tariffs of 25 percent, much lower than up to 35 percent expected earlier. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.
Trump shared screen shots on Truth Social of letter sent to various world leaders about new tariffs set to be imposed on August 1. Imports from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Kazakhstan are now set to face 25 percent tariffs, South African imports will be subject to a 30 percent tariff and imports from Laos and Myanmar will face a 40 percent tariff.
Trump also threatened to impose additional 10% tariff on BRICS nations and their allies, as he termed them 'Anti-American'.
The Australian stock market is trading slightly higher on Tuesday, reversing some of the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 8,600 level, with gains in gold miners and technology stocks as well as a mixed performance in most other sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 4.30 points or 0.05 percent to 8,593.60, after hitting a low of 8,550.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 6.90 points or 0.08 percent to 8,833.30. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is slipping more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent, while Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.1 percent and Mineral Resources is gaining almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mixed. Origin Energy is losing more than 1 percent and Woodside Energy is edging down 0.3 percent, while Beach energy is gaining 1.5 percent and Santos is edging up 0.3 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is adding 1.5 percent, WiseTech Global is gaining almost 2 percent, Xero is advancing almost 1 percent and Appen is rising more than 2 percent, while Zip is edging down 0.2 percent.
Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.5 percent, Northern Star resources is adding more than 1 percent and Resolute Mining is surging more than 8 percent, while Newmont and Evolution Mining are gaining more than 2 percent each.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Westpac is edging down 0.3 percent.
In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and announce its decision on interest rates. The RBA is expected to trim its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, to 3.60 percent from 3.85 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.652 on Tuesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, reversing the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 39,700 level, with gains in automakers and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,711.29, up 123.61 points or 0.31 percent, after touching a high of 39,816.27 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding almost 1 percent and Toyota is also gaining almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 2 percent, Screen Holdings is adding more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is up almost 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.2 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are losing almost 1 percent each.
The major exporters are mostly higher. Canon, Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Panasonic is losing almost 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Omron is skyrocketing almost 10 percent, while Furukawa Electric and Sumitomo Electric Industries are soaring more than 6 percent each. M3 is surging more than 4 percent, Fujikura is gaining almost 4 percent and Sumco is adding more than 3 percent, while Mazda Motor, Recruit Holdings, Idemitsu Kosan, SMC, Alps Alpine, BayCurrent and Taiyo Yuden are advancing almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Marui Group is declining almost 4 percent, while Chugai Pharmaceutical and Tokyo Gas are losing almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, overall bank lending in Japan was up 2.8 percent on year in June, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday - coming in at 639.746 trillion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 2.3 percent and was up from 2.4 percent in May. Excluding trusts, lending jumped an annual 3.0 percent to 561.432 trillion yen, while lending from trusts climbed 1.3 percent on year to 78.314 trillion yen. For the second quarter of 2025, overall lending was up 2.5 percent on year.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 146 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are higher by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each, while New Zealand, Malaysia Taiwan and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 1.0 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Monday, giving back ground after moving sharply higher over the past several sessions. The major averages moved to the downside in early trading and slid more firmly into negative territory as the day progressed.
The major averages ended the day off their worst levels of the day but still notably lower. The Dow tumbled 422.17 points or 0.9 percent to 44,406.36, the Nasdaq slumped 188.59 points or 0.9 percent to 20,412.52 and the S&P 500 slid 49.37 points or 0.8 percent to 6,229.98.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index jumped by 1.2 percent.
Crude oil prices edged higher Monday, shrugging off oversupply concerns triggered by OPEC's decision to accelerate its production increase starting in August. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery rose $0.93 to settle at $67.93 per barrel.
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