WORLD

Asian shares are mixed as markets shrug at latest China-US trade deal

Jun 11, 2025, 7:27 PM | Updated: Jun 12, 2025, 6:48 am

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed early Thursday after Wall Street’s rally stalled as investors appeared not to react much to the results of the latest round of China-U.S. trade talks.

U.S. futures slipped and oil prices slipped.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.5% to 38,213.20.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 0.5% to 24,234.80, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 3,404.66.

In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.8% to 2,929.94, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 8,604.50.

Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.8%.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 6,022.24 for its first loss in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged at 42,865.77 after edging down by 1 point. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.5% to 3,400.30.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 16.57 points to 6,022.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.10 to 42,865.77, and the Nasdaq composite sank 99.11 to 19,615.88.

Several Big Tech stocks led the way lower, and a 1.9% drop for Apple was the heaviest weight on the market. It’s been listless this week after unveiling several modest upcoming changes to the software that runs its devices.

The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields eased after a report suggested President Donald Trump’s tariffs are not pushing inflation much higher, at least not yet.

U.S. consumers had to pay prices for food, gasoline and other costs of living that were 2.4% higher overall in May than a year earlier. That was up from April’s 2.3% inflation rate, but it wasn’t as bad as the 2.5% that Wall Street was expecting.

A fear has been that Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs could ignite an acceleration in inflation, just when it had seemed to get nearly all the way back to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target from more than 9% three summers ago. It hasn’t happened, though economists warn it may take months more to feel the full effect of Trump’s tariffs.

Trump said Wednesday that China will supply rare-earth minerals and magnets to the United States, while his government will allow Chinese students into U.S. universities in a deal that still needs an agreement by him and by China’s leader. Trump also said that “President XI and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade. This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!”

Investors are still hoping for a more sweeping trade deal that would ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Hopes for such deals between the United States and countries around the world have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has charged nearly all the way back to its all-time high after dropping roughly 20% below a couple months ago. Without them, the fear is that Trump’s high tariffs could drive the economy into a recession while pushing inflation higher. The S&P 500 is now sitting 2% below its record.

Tesla swung between gains and losses before finishing with a rise of 0.1% to continue its shaky run. It’s been recovering much of its big losses taken last week after Elon Musk’s relationship with Trump imploded, which in turn raised fears about a loss of business for the electric-vehicle company. Musk on Wednesday backed away from some of his earlier comments and said they went “too far.”

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.41% from 4.47% late Tuesday. Shorter-term yields, which more closely track expectations for what the Fed will do with overnight interest rates, fell more.

Wednesday’s better-than-expected reading on inflation raised expectations along Wall Street that the Fed could cut its main interest rate at least twice by the end of the year.

In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 33 cents to $67.82 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 37 cents to $69.40 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar slipped to 143.89 Japanese yen from 144.60 yen. The euro rose to $1.1520 from $1.1487.

World

Associated Press

Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day as nuclear talks are called off

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day on Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran’s nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, were called off. The region […]

6 hours ago

FILE - A boat navigates large icebergs near Kulusuk, in eastern Greenland, on Aug. 15, 2019. (AP Ph...

Associated Press

First direct flight from US to Greenland since 2008 lands on Trump’s birthday

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — The first direct flight from the U.S. to Greenland by an American airline landed in the capital city of Nuuk on Saturday. The United Airlines-operated Boeing 737 Max 8 departed from Newark International Airport in New Jersey at 11:31 a.m. EDT (1531 GMT) and arrived a little over 4 hours later, […]

17 hours ago

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to journalists during a press conference in Kyiv, Uk...

Associated Press

Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia’s war effort

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A sharp rise in global oil prices following Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in comments that were under embargo until Saturday afternoon. Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the surge in oil […]

1 day ago

Associated Press

UN conference on Palestinian state postponed because of Middle East tensions

PARIS (AP) — A top-level U.N. conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians scheduled for next week has been postponed amid surging tensions in the Middle East, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday. France and Saudi Arabia were due to co-chair the conference hosted by the U.N. General Assembly in New York […]

2 days ago

FILE - Cuban doctors arrive at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba, June 8, 2020, ...

Associated Press

A letter demanding data on Cuban medical missions roils the Caribbean and the Americas

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An unusual request from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights about Cuban medical brigades that operate worldwide and provide much needed help has roiled countries in the Caribbean and the Americas. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the commission asks members of the Organization of American States, […]

2 days ago

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI)...

Associated Press

Oil prices surge and markets retreat after Israel’s strike on Iran

HONG KONG (AP) — Oil prices surged and Asian shares were lower Friday after Israel struck Iranian nuclear and military targets in an attack that raised the risk of all-out war between them. U.S. benchmark crude oil rose by $3.93, or 5.8%, to $71.97 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, increased by $3.82 to […]

2 days ago

Asian shares are mixed as markets shrug at latest China-US trade deal