This content was published on <\/p>\n
July 30, 2025 – 03:12\n<\/p>\n
(Bloomberg) \u2014 Asian equities posted a modest gain ahead of the Federal Reserve\u2019s policy decision and marginal progress in US-China trade talks.<\/p>\n
Japanese shares dipped while those in Australia and South Korea made most gains after the S&P 500 snapped a six-day rally. Treasuries were steady in early Asian trading after jumping the most in a month in the prior session. Oil held its biggest gain in six weeks after President Donald Trump\u2019s reiteration that further levies on Russia remained on the table without a Ukraine truce.<\/p>\n
The yen strengthened 0.3% against the dollar after Japan issues a tsunami warning for areas including the Tokyo Bay. A gauge of the greenback weakened for the first time in five days.<\/p>\n
US and China will continue talks over maintaining a tariff truce before it expires in two weeks and Trump will make the final call on any extension. Adding an extra 90 days is one option, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.<\/p>\n
Much like the muted response to the US-EU tariff deal, the latest signs of progress with Beijing did little to shift investor mood. There are also other market-moving factors on the horizon. Those include Wednesday\u2019s Fed decision \u2014 where policy makers are expected to keep rates on hold \u2014 and key data including Friday\u2019s jobs report. Four tech giants will also report earnings over a two-day stretch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe market is getting better at pricing this behavior \u2013 that is, extension, as long as you say it\u2019s positive development,\u201d said Billy Leung, investment strategist at Global X ETFs. \u201cPreviously, this lack of development could have caused much larger negative reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Stockholm negotiations marked the third round of US-China trade talks in less than three months. They wrapped up ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline to resolve differences during a 90-day suspension of tariffs that had threatened to cut off bilateral trade between the world\u2019s largest economies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile there is disappointment that nothing material was agreed, the mood seems to be constructive and optimistic about future potential deals,\u201d said Kelvin Lam, senior China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics in London. \u201cIn the medium term, the extension is basically relaying the uncertainty of trade policies, and it will weigh on the Chinese economy in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n
After news emerged that China\u2019s delegation had indicated a 90-day extension of the two economies\u2019 trade-war truce was agreed, Bessent said, his Chinese counterparts have \u201cjumped the gun a little.\u201d<\/p>\n
The discussions show a \u201cwillingness to reach an agreement,\u201d said Jun Bei Liu, founder of Ten Cap Investment. Markets have been \u2018incredibly strong, we are just seeing some consolidation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Trump said that India may be hit with a tariff rate of 20% to 25% but cautioned the final levy had still not been finalized as the two countries negotiate on a trade deal ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline.<\/p>\n
On the economic front, US consumer confidence increased as concerns eased about the outlook for the broader economy and the labor market. While job openings fell, they hovered at a level that indicates generally stable demand for workers.<\/p>\n
In a rare occurrence, policymakers will convene in the same week that the government issues reports on gross domestic product, employment and the Fed\u2019s preferred price metrics.<\/p>\n
Forecasters anticipate the heavy dose of data will show economic activity rebounded in the second quarter, largely due to a sharp narrowing of the trade deficit, while job growth moderated in July. The third marquee report may show underlying inflation picked up slightly in June from a month earlier.<\/p>\n
With the Fed\u2019s benchmark rate holding at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5% since December, the business world is looking for any clue that officials are moving toward a rate reduction in the fall.<\/p>\n
Fed Chair Jerome Powell could face dissent from one or more colleagues arguing it\u2019s time for the central bank to provide more support to a slowing labor market.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe the Fed wants to maintain flexibility on when to deploy further rate cuts. In our view, the Fed will remain on hold until \u2018hard data\u2019 begins to confirm the slowdown story,\u201d said Luis Alvarado at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. \u201cThe Fed will have the opportunity to cut rates later in the year if the economy slows and as long as inflation allows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the main moves in markets:<\/p>\n
Stocks<\/p>\n
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:58 a.m. Tokyo time Hang Seng futures fell 0.5% Japan\u2019s Topix was little changed Australia\u2019s S&P\/ASX 200 rose 0.2% Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed Currencies<\/p>\n
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1% The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1567 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 148.12 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1780 per dollar Cryptocurrencies<\/p>\n
Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $117,726.58 Ether rose 0.3% to $3,774.48 Bonds<\/p>\n
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.33% Japan\u2019s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.550% Australia\u2019s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.30% Commodities<\/p>\n
West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed Spot gold rose 0.1% to $3,330.20 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.<\/p>\n
\u2013With assistance from Jacob Gu, Winnie Hsu, Rob Verdonck and Abhishek Vishnoi.<\/p>\n
\u00a92025 Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This content was published on July 30, 2025 – 03:12 (Bloomberg) \u2014 Asian equities posted a modest gain…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3091],"tags":[3420,51,22526,27062,2441,7063,22527,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-302701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-markets","8":"tag-bonds","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-business-general","11":"tag-currency-values","12":"tag-markets","13":"tag-stocks","14":"tag-ticker","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114939695510345756","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}