Friday 16th May 2025: Asia-Pacific Stocks Slip Amid U.S.-China Trade Concerns; Wall Street Mixed

Global Markets:

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.08%, Shanghai Composite down 0.37%, Hang Seng down 0.46% ASX up 0.42%
• Commodities : Gold at $3220.35 (-0.39%), Silver at $32.8 (-0.69%), Brent Oil at $64.58 (-0.29%), WTI Oil at $61.6 (0.29%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.424, UK 10-year yield at 4.6560, Germany 10-year yield at 2.6250

News & Data:

• (USD) Core PPI m/m -0.4%  to 0.3%  expected
• (USD) PPI m/m -0.5%  to 0.2%  expected
• (USD) Core retail sales m/m 0.1%  to 0.3%  expected
• (USD) Retail Sales m/m 0.1%  to 0.0%  expected
• (USD) Unemployment claims 229K  to 229K  expected

Markets Update:

Asia-Pacific markets mostly declined on Thursday, diverging from Wall Street as investors evaluated the latest U.S.-China trade developments. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.98% to 37,755.51, while the Topix fell 0.88% to 2,738.96. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.73% to 2,621.36, and the Kosdaq lost 0.79% to 733.23.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index shed 0.82%, and China’s CSI 300 declined 0.87%. India’s Nifty 50 also edged down by 0.16%. On the other hand, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 outperformed regional peers, rising 0.22% to 8,297.5.

Citi analysts noted that although markets have mostly priced in peak tariff-related stress, there is still a risk of renewed volatility driven by fiscal policy uncertainty and softening U.S. economic data.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures dipped slightly in overnight trading following three consecutive days of gains for the S&P 500. Earlier this week, the U.S. and China reached a temporary truce in their ongoing tariff standoff, easing some investor concerns.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 edged up 0.10% to 5,892.58, extending its weekly rally and moving into positive territory for the year. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.72% to 19,146.81, showing strong tech sector performance. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 89.37 points, or 0.21%, ending the day at 42,051.06.

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The post Friday 16th May 2025: Asia-Pacific Stocks Slip Amid U.S.-China Trade Concerns; Wall Street Mixed first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.