On Tuesday morning (1 July, 9:20 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific exhibited a mixed performance as market participants digested the latest rally on Wall Street and weighed lingering uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policy. The expiration of President Donald Trump’s temporary tariff pause, scheduled for next week, added to investor caution.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that some countries are engaged in ‘good faith’ trade talks with Washington. Still, he cautioned that tariffs could swiftly revert to previously announced levels if negotiations stall, raising concerns about renewed global trade tensions.
In South Korea, the nation’s manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in June, as the S&P 500 Global South Korea Manufacturing PMI inched up to 48.7 from May’s 47.7.
As for Japan, the manufacturing sector expanded in June for the first time in over a year, with the au Jibun Bank flash Manufacturing PMI climbing to 50.4—up from 49.4 in May—driven by increased output.
In addition, large Japanese manufacturers reported stronger business confidence in the three months to June. The headline index for big manufacturers’ sentiment rose to +13, surpassing both the previous reading of +12 in March and analyst expectations of +10, as polled by Reuters.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong markets are closed for a public holiday.
Australia’s ASX 200 rose by 0.15% to 8,554.9. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped by 1.68% to 3,123.18, while Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 1.02% to 40,073.29.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC climbed by 0.09% to 3,447.59, and Shenzhen’s SZI fell by 0.37% to 10,426.61.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.63% to 44,094.77. NASDAQ added 0.47% to 20,369.73, and S&P 500 surged by 0.52% to 6,204.95. VIX soared by 2.51% to 16.73.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Monday amid reduced geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and speculation that OPEC+ may raise production levels in August. Brent futures slid 16 cents or 0.2% to $67.61 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 41 cents or 0.6% to $65.11 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures remained unchanged at $67.61 a barrel, while the WTI futures lost 41 cents or 0.63% to $64.7 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures expanded by 0.6% to $3,327.7 per Troy ounce.
