Asia Pacific stocks weaken as the US tariff deadline nears and conflicting messages emerge. The US dollar bounces, while Gold and Oil decline on fresh news.
US dollar rebounds as Asian equities slip; Gold and Oil weaken amid tariff developments
Most of the benchmark Asia Pacific stock indices have traded on a weaker footing at the start of the week today as market participants await and digest the latest tariff-related news flows with the upcoming US White House administration’s 90-day pause on the higher global reciprocal tariffs (excluding China) set to expire on this Wednesday, 9 July.
Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped by -0.6% to 39,576, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched lower by -0.30% to 23,845 while trading above its 50-day moving average at around 23,330. In addition, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 E-mini futures dropped by 0.5% each in today’s Asian session. However, Singapore’s Straits Times Index bucked the trend with an intraday gain of 0.3% to hit another fresh all-time high of 4,026.
The US White House administration has sent out contrasting messages so far; Commerce Secretary Lutnick said the higher reciprocal tariffs will take effect on 1 August, signalling some breathing room for US trading partners on a potential extension of the 9 July deadline. Meanwhile, US President Trump mentioned over the weekend that letters with looming tariff increases will start to go out on Monday and Tuesday before 9 July.
The US Dollar Index bounced higher by 0.2% to 97.15, and it is still trading below its 20-day moving average, acting as an intermediate resistance at around 97.85. In today’s Asian session, the Japanese yen (-0.4%), Aussie dollar (-0.6%), and Kiwi dollar (-0.7%) are the worst performers against the US dollar on an intraday basis.
Gold (XAU/USD) faltered as it slipped below its 50-day moving average (3,320) with an intraday loss of -0.8% to 3,310. West Texas crude oil shed -0.4% to extend its losses from last Wednesday to US$66.85/barrel (below its 200-day moving average at US$69.15) over glut concerns as OPEC+ agreed to increase oil production more than expected by 548,000 barrels per day in August (consensus: 411,000 barrels).
Our YouTube video above contains the latest intraday technical analysis on the latest intraday technical analysis on US Wall Street 30, US Nas 100, US SPX 500, Hong Kong 33, Japan 225, Germany 30, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/JPY, Gold (XAU/USD), and West Texas Oil.
