Asian markets focus on China as Trump chooses team

Investors continue to eye the U.S. as president-elect on Tuesday, as most markets struggled to recover from the previous day’s losses sparked by disappointment over China’s economic support measures. Donald Trump establishes his cabinet.

The tepid start to the day came despite another record close on Wall Street, buoyed by expectations that Trump would implement his promised business-friendly policies and hopes that his administration would be pro-cryptocurrency. bitcoin Head towards a new record near $90,000.

While US investors are bracing for another strong four years as Trump cuts taxes and eases regulations, investors in Asia – particularly in China – are watching developments cautiously due to fears of another debilitating trade war.

Beijing’s failure to announce any new stimulus at Friday’s highly anticipated press conference has dampened sentiment on trading floors this week and knocked the wind out of investors after a raft of measures announced in late September fueled a market recovery.

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But some observers said the decision may be because Chinese officials are keeping their dust dry to respond to impacts caused by Trump’s measures such as tariffs.

Asian markets were mostly down, with primary bourses including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Manila rising, while Tokyo and Wellington were up.

The dollar continued its rise against its rivals after news of Trump’s election; This has sparked bets about a rise in inflation that could complicate the Fed’s plans to cut interest rates.

U.S. consumer price index data due on Wednesday will be watched closely as investors try to determine the bank’s plans for next month’s monetary policy meeting.

“We assume the Trump administration will deliver on its key policy proposals, with greater uncertainty as to the degree and timing of these policies,” said Rodrigo Catril of National Australia Bank.

“Many of these policies (low taxes, tariffs, immigration, deregulation, unfunded expansionary fiscal policy) could be considered pro-growth and/or inflationary.

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“This means, all else being equal, a shallower Fed expansion cycle and a stronger dollar.”

With Trump set to return to the White House in just over two months, the big question on investors’ minds is when he’ll begin his trade agenda.

“Wall Street is tentatively sticking to a timeline of late 2025 or early 2026, giving its team time to try diplomacy before reaching for the tariff stick,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

“But word on the street suggests that Trump may accelerate the tariff increase, possibly justifying early action based on current trade data from China. And with China’s trade surplus on track to reach record levels this year, that showdown may not be much of a turnoff after all.” far away.”

In the crypto space, Bitcoin reached a peak just above $89,599, which puts it within the important $100,000 mark range.

Key figures around 02:30 GMT

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Tokyo – Nikkei 225: increased by 0.5 percent to 39,748.13 (break)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: 0.5 percent decrease at 20,330.82 level

Shanghai – Composite: 0.1 percent down at 3,467.69

Dollar/yen: rose from 153.81 yen to 154.00 yen on Monday

Euro/dollar: decreased from $1.0648 to $1.0645

Pound/dollar: decreased from $1.2872 to $1.2855

Euro/pound: increased from 82.73 pence to 82.80 pence

West Texas Intermediate: Up 0.2 percent at $68.19 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: up 0.2 percent at $71.96 per barrel

New York – Dow: 0.7 percent up 44,293.13 (closing)

London – FTSE 100: up 0.7 percent at 8,125.19 (closing)

Source: AFP