On Tuesday morning (8 July, 9:25 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific increased after U.S. President Donald Trump revealed plans to implement significant tariffs on imports from 14 countries, affecting several key economies in the region.
As detailed in statements shared on Truth Social, Washington will impose a 25% import tariff on products coming from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Tunisia starting August 1.
Additional measures target markets such as Indonesia, with a 32% excise tax, and Bangladesh, subject to a 35% tariff. Goods from Cambodia and Thailand will encounter a 36% U.S. import tax, while imports from Laos and Myanmar face the heftiest increase with duties set at 40%.
Following developments on Monday, the Reserve Bank of Australia is poised to reveal its latest policy decision, with market participants widely anticipating a 25 basis point reduction in its benchmark interest rate, bringing it down to 3.6%. This move is expected to be confirmed when the central bank wraps up its two-day meeting later today.
Japan’s NIKKEI climbed by 0.06% to 39,611.73. South Korea’s KOSPI rose by 0.79% to 3,083.78, while Australia’s ASX 200 dipped by 0.08% to 8,582.8.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC grew by 0.18% to 3,479.55. Hong Kong’s HSI expanded by 0.31% to 23,961.88, and Shenzhen’s SZI escalated by 0.63% to 10,501.14.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) declined by 0.94% to 44,406.36. NASDAQ dropped by 0.92% to 20,412.52, and S&P 500 fell by 0.79% to 6,229.98. VIX soared by 1.77% to 17.79.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Monday, driven by robust demand signals that outweighed investor worries over OPEC+’s decision to increase production for August. The price gains also came in spite of renewed fears that new U.S. tariffs could pose risks to global trade and energy consumption. Brent futures added $1.28 or 1.9% to $69.58 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) surged 93 cents or 1.4% to $67.93 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures contracted 42 cents or 0.6% to $69.16 a barrel, and the WTI futures lost 48 cents or 0.71% to $67.45 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures gained 0.06% to $3,344.7 per Troy ounce.
