Thursday 15th May 2025: Asia-Pacific Markets Decline Amid Caution on U.S.-China Trade and Economic Outlook

Global Markets:

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.8%, Shanghai Composite down 0.47%, Hang Seng down 0.43% ASX up 0.22%
• Commodities : Gold at $3142.35 (-1.39%), Silver at $31.8 (-0.69%), Brent Oil at $64.38 (-2.29%), WTI Oil at $61.7 (-2.29%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.541, UK 10-year yield at 4.7120, Germany 10-year yield at 2.6920

News & Data:

• (CAD) Building Permits -4.1%  to -0.7%  expected

Markets Update:

Asia-Pacific markets mostly declined on Thursday, diverging from Wall Street’s upward momentum as investors weighed recent U.S.-China trade developments. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.90%, while the Topix shed 0.75%. In South Korea, the Kospi slid 0.29%, and the small-cap Kosdaq declined 0.37%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.42%, and China’s CSI 300 lost 0.6%. India’s Nifty 50 opened flat, showing little movement.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was a rare outlier, posting a gain of 0.21%.

U.S. stock futures slipped slightly in overnight trading, despite recent strength in the equity markets. Earlier this week, the U.S. and China reached a temporary pause in their ongoing tariff battle, which had sparked optimism among investors.

On Wednesday, U.S. markets saw mixed results. The S&P 500 rose 0.10% to close at 5,892.58, marking its third consecutive day of gains and pushing the index into positive territory for the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite performed strongly, climbing 0.72% to finish at 19,146.81. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, falling 89.37 points or 0.21%, closing at 42,051.06. Despite some progress on trade, global markets remain sensitive to economic indicators and policy shifts.

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The post Thursday 15th May 2025: Asia-Pacific Markets Decline Amid Caution on U.S.-China Trade and Economic Outlook first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.