As geopolitical fears resurfaced and trade war worries cast a shadow, Asian markets were mixed as gold reached yet another record high on Wednesday.
The sluggish start to the day came after tech-led losses on Wall Street, and a limited truce in Ukraine that was agreed upon by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump was shrugged off.
After the Bank of Japan warned about the outlook amid “high uncertainties” particularly over trade and put interest rates on hold, the yen gained ground versus the dollar.
Investors are also gearing up for central bank decisions in the United States, the United Kingdom and Indonesia, where stocks tanked Tuesday on concerns about Indonesia’s economy.
Fresh pledges by China to boost domestic consumption and welcome data out of the United States that eased recession worries helped Asian markets to a strong start to the week.
But Trump’s scattergun trade policies, which have seen him impose measures on some key partners but delay others, have stoked uncertainty.
While no new levies have been announced in recent days, the next key date is April 2, when sweeping reciprocal measures are due to kick in, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent telling Fox Business “each country will receive a number that we believe represents their tariffs”.
“We are going to go to them and say, look, here’s where we think the tariff levels are, non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, unfair funding, labour suppression,” he added on “Mornings With Maria.”
Many economists have warned that the tariffs — which are being met with retaliation by some countries — will tip the US economy, and possibly others, into recession.
With that in mind, the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, which ends later Wednesday, is being closely followed by traders hoping for an idea about officials’ plans to deal with any negative impact.
