Global markets today: Asian markets mostly declined on Tuesday, mirroring Wall Street losses, as investors reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks on China.
South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.56 per cent, though the Kosdaq index gained 0.36 per cent. In Japan, both the Nikkei 225 and the Topix dropped 0.54 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded slightly lower in early dealings.
Market participants also evaluated the meeting between the South Korean and U.S. presidents, which discussed details of last month’s trade deal framework imposing 15 per cent tariffs on South Korean exports to the U.S.
Chinese stocks will be closely watched after the mainland’s CSI 300 index rose for the fourth consecutive session, gaining over 2% on Monday. Meanwhile, overnight reports suggested that Trump threatened to impose “200% tariffs or something similar” on China if it failed to export rare-earth magnets to the U.S.
U.S. stock market today
U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday as investors assessed the future of interest rates and awaited quarterly results from AI chipmaker Nvidia, following Friday’s rally that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record closing high.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.43 per cent to finish at 6,439.32, while the Nasdaq fell 0.22 per cent to 21,449.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.77 per cent to 45,282.47.
Friday’s gains came after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, at the Jackson Hole Symposium, signaled that an interest rate cut could be on the table for the September meeting amid signs of labor market softness.
Nvidia rose 1 per cent ahead of its quarterly results on Wednesday, an event widely anticipated on Wall Street and seen as a key test for the booming AI-driven market.