Asian stocks rise on Wall Street rally, easing US trade tensions and bond yield drop

Asian equity markets advanced on Wednesday, buoyed by a strong Wall Street performance following upbeat US consumer confidence data and a decline in bond yields. Investors also found relief in a delay to fresh US tariffs and signs of easing trade tensions.

Markets rebounded after US President Donald Trump announced a postponement of the 50 percent tariffs he unexpectedly proposed last Friday. The delay to July helped calm investors rattled by renewed fears of a trade war escalation. Trump’s follow-up comments on social media also lifted sentiment, with a post claiming the European Union had agreed to “quickly establish meeting dates” for trade talks.

“This is a positive event, and I hope that they will, FINALLY… open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Adding to the positive momentum, US consumer confidence saw its first uptick in five months, with the Conference Board index showing a stronger-than-expected recovery. Analysts attributed the rise in sentiment to the temporary cooling of trade tensions, though tariffs remain a key concern, reports AFP.

Asian markets broadly reflected this optimism. Key indexes saw gains:

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 37,918.86 as traders awaited a pivotal 40-year Japanese government bond (JGB) auction.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Shanghai Composite both climbed 0.2%.
Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Manila, and Jakarta also advanced, while Wellington dipped despite another rate cut by New Zealand’s central bank — its sixth consecutive reduction.

In Japan, investors were particularly focused on the bond market following this month’s weak 20-year note auction. Yields, which had surged to record highs, eased after the Ministry of Finance signaled it may reduce bond issuance — a move interpreted as an effort to stabilize markets.

Masahiko Loo, senior fixed income strategist at State Street Global Advisors, downplayed structural concerns in the JGB market, calling recent turbulence “technical” in nature and likely to resolve by the third quarter of 2025.

The pullback in yields weakened the yen, which remained around 144.30 per dollar on Wednesday.

Key market figures as of 02:30 GMT:

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.5% at 37,918.86
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.2% at 23,421.96
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2% at 3,346.13
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1323
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3502
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.26 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.86 pence
WTI crude: UP 0.8% at $61.36 per barrel
Brent crude: UP 0.7% at $64.56 per barrel
New York – Dow Jones: UP 1.8% at 42,343.65
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7% at 8,778.05

Markets now await further signals from US-EU trade discussions and Japan’s debt auction results to gauge the sustainability of the current rally.