Asian Shares Mixed With US-China Trade Tensions In Focus

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed in muted trade on Tuesday, with Japanese markets closed for Showa Day holiday.

The White House has confirmed President Trump's plan to reduce tariffs on auto parts for cars made in America following intense lobbying by industrial leaders.

At the same time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent put the burden for trade progress squarely on China, increasing confusion about the status of talks between the two countries.

China vowed to stand firm and said that concession and retreat will only make the bully more aggressive.

The dollar was resilient against its rivals in Asian trading, sending gold prices lower toward $3,300 per ounce. Oil extended overnight losses on weaker demand outlook.

China's Shanghai Composite index finished marginally lower at 3,286.65 as officials pledged to stabilize capital markets without announcing fresh stimulus to counter the hefty U.S. tariffs.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged up by 0.16 percent to 22,008.11 as tech stocks rallied on Alibaba's advanced Qwen 3 AI launch.

Seoul stocks ended higher for a third day running, with auto and bio stocks leading the surge ahead of quarterly earnings reports from major companies.

The Kospi average climbed 0.65 percent to 2,565.42. Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia both rose over 2 percent while Samsung Biologics gained 1.5 percent and smaller rival Celltrion jumped 3.8 percent.

Australian markets climbed to a two-month high on hopes for more favorable U.S. trade policies.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.92 percent to 8,070.60, rising for a fourth straight session led by energy and tech stocks. The broader All Ordinaries index settled 1.02 percent higher at 8,287.90.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index dropped 0.61 percent to 12,025.45.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending mixed overnight ahead of a busy week of earnings releases and economic reports.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid marginally while the S&P 500 closed marginally higher - rising for the fifth day in a row and marking its longest winning streak since November last year. The narrower Dow added 0.3 percent.