Thursday 22nd May 2025: Asia-Pacific Markets Slide as U.S. Budget Fears Rattle Global Investor Sentiment

Global Markets:

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.78%, Shanghai Composite down 0.17%, Hang Seng down 0.91% ASX down 0.55%
• Commodities : Gold at $3332.35 (0.39%), Silver at $33.8 (0.69%), Brent Oil at $64.8 (1.29%), WTI Oil at $61.6 (0.29%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.592, UK 10-year yield at 4.7545, Germany 10-year yield at 2.6445

News & Data:

• (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 1.3M  to -0.9M expected

Markets Update:

Asia-Pacific markets declined on Thursday, mirroring Wall Street’s drop amid growing concerns that a new U.S. budget bill could significantly increase national debt. Investor sentiment turned cautious, leading to a broad regional sell-off.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened 1.06% lower, while the Topix fell 0.85%. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.59%, and the smaller Kosdaq index declined 0.69%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.36%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged down 0.24% at the open, and mainland China’s CSI 300 lost 0.14%.

Markets also turned their attention to New Zealand, where the 2025 budget is set to be announced.

The downturn in Asia followed a volatile overnight session in the U.S., where stock futures were relatively flat after a significant Wall Street sell-off. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 60 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures showed little movement.

All three major U.S. indices closed sharply lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 816.80 points, or 1.91%, ending at 41,860.44. The S&P 500 dropped 1.61% to 5,844.61, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.41% to 18,872.64.

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The post Thursday 22nd May 2025: Asia-Pacific Markets Slide as U.S. Budget Fears Rattle Global Investor Sentiment first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.