On Thursday (14 May, 9:20 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in the Asia Pacific delivered uneven movements as market participants tracked the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping, an event considered pivotal for assessing future developments in the bilateral relationship and broader trade dynamics.
Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, leading a U.S. delegation that included prominent business leaders such as Elon Musk of Tesla and Jensen Huang of Nvidia. Investors are monitoring outcomes from the summit for indications on the direction of trade policy, in addition to keeping a close eye on geopolitical tension in the Middle East.
Goldman Sachs indicated the Trump-Xi meeting is likely to target concrete trade issues—namely, tariffs, export controls, and technology-related restrictions—without forging a broader reset of strategic relations.
The bank outlined the possibility that China could increase its purchases of U.S. agricultural products, energy, and aircraft as a means to prevent further tariff escalation, while also reiterated its favorable outlook on Chinese assets, citing the nation’s strong export position and a currency viewed as undervalued.
In corporate news, Samsung Electronics saw its stock climb by approximately 5%, hitting an all-time high. This rebound followed a sharp sell-off on Wednesday, during which the company briefly lost around $66 billion in market value amid news of a looming large-scale labor strike.
South Korea’s finance minister, Koo Yun-cheol, cautioned that such a strike could have significant implications for the country’s growth prospects, export sector, and financial market stability.
Recent U.S. inflation data pointed to increasing price pressures, prompting market participants to ramp up expectations for a possible interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, the Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as Fed chair after a closely contested vote, ushering in a notably debated transition at the helm of the central bank and raising questions about its independence.
Japan’s NIKKEI surged by 0.47% to 63,567.03. South Korea’s KOSPI rose by 0.47% to 7,880.90, while Australia’s ASX 200 declined by 0.28% to 8,606.40.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC dropped by 0.50% to 4,221.16. Shenzhen’s SZI contracted by 0.69% to 15,979.57, while Hong Kong’s HSI advanced by 0.74% to 26,583.14.
The U.S. stock markets were mixed on Wednesday as NASDAQ grew by 1.20% to 26,402.34. S&P 500 gained 0.58% to 7,444.25, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 0.14% to 49,693.20. VIX lost 0.67% to 17.87.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Wednesday, pressured by investor concerns around potential U.S. interest rate increases and anticipation of developments from a key meeting in Beijing involving Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Brent crude finished the session down $2.14, or 2%, ending at $105.63 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude declined by $1.16, or 1.14%, to settle at $101.02 a barrel.
This morning, Brent futures slid 6 cents or 0.06% to $105.57 per barrel, and the WTI futures shrank 3 cents or 0.03% to $100.99 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures decreased by 0.18% to $4,698.10 per Troy ounce.
