BANGKOK – Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite edged away from the records they set last week.
Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose 30% tariffs on goods coming from Mexico and the European Union. This announcement had little immediate impact, as analysts believe progress toward trade agreements will be made before the August 1st deadline.
Trump detailed the planned tariffs Saturday in letters posted to his social media account.
The Mexican peso weakened slightly against the dollar, trading at 18.6 pesos to the dollar.
Meanwhile, Chinese stock markets saw gains after the government reported a rise in exports last month. This increase was driven by a surge in orders, resulting from a temporary pause in the trade conflict ahead of the August 12th deadline for finalizing a new trade pact with Washington.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5% to 24,253.18, while the Shanghai Composite index also was up 0.5%, at 3,526.75.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.3% to 39,459.20, while the Kospi in South Korea jumped 0.8% to 3,200.25.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 8,577.80.
Taiwan’s benchmark lost 2.3%.
On Friday, a modest pullback for U.S. stocks left major stock indexes on Wall Street in the red for the week.
The S&P 500 closed 0.3% lower, at 6,259.75, a day after setting a record high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.6% to reach 44,371.51, while the Nasdaq composite experienced a slight decline of 0.2%, closing at 20,585.53. Throughout the day, it fluctuated between minor gains and losses, after having reached a record high on the previous Thursday.
The selling capped an uneven week in the market as Wall Street kept an eye on the Trump administration’s rollout of new tariff threats against trading partners like Canada and looked ahead to the upcoming corporate earnings reporting season.
Trump said in a letter Thursday that he will raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening the rift between the longtime North American allies. The letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was an aggressive increase to the top 25% tariff rates that Trump first imposed in March.
The administration had initially set Wednesday as a deadline for countries to make deals with the U.S. or face heavy increases in tariffs. But with just two trade deals announced since April, one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam, the window for negotiations has been been extended to Aug. 1.
Trump also floated this week that he would impose tariffs of as much as 200% on pharmaceutical drugs and place a 50% tariff on copper imports, matching the rates charged on steel and aluminum.
The initial rollout of Trump’s tariff policies in the spring roiled financial markets. But they have been relatively stable in recent weeks, suggesting investors have adjusted to the unpredictability of his sudden policy shifts.
Markets are set to shift their focus to quarterly earnings over the next few weeks. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are among big banks due to report their results on Tuesday.
Shares in aviation company Red Cat Holdings jumped 26.4% Friday after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued orders aimed at ramping up production and deployment of drones.
Bitcoin climbed to another all-time high, rising 3.6% early Monday to $122,065, according to Coindesk.
Bitcoin’s price has jumped amid bullish momentum across risk assets and coincides with Nvidia’s surge to a $4 trillion valuation. The U.S. Congress’ Crypto Week starts Monday. Lawmakers will debate a series of bills that could define the regulatory framework for the industry.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 9 cents to $68.54 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 10 cents at $70.46 per barrel.
The dollar slipped to 147.36 Japanese yen from 147.38 yen. The euro fell to $1.1659 from $1.1692.
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AP Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed.
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