Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders are optimistic after the U.S. said almost 70 countries have contacted them to begin negotiations on tariffs after the U.S. slapped steeper-than-expected reciprocal tariffs on its trading partner countries. Some traders are also picking up stocks at a huge bargain after a couple of sessions of extremely heavy losses. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

Adding to worries about a global trade war, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on Chinese goods unless the country withdraws its new 34 percent tariff on U.S. goods.

"If China does not withdraw its 34 percent increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose additional tariffs on China of 50 percent, effective April 9th," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Trump also threatened to terminate negotiations with China even as he said his administration is in talks with "countries from all over the world" and "tough but fair parameters are being set."

Trump reiterated his resolve on tariffs and indicated he was not concerned about the massive sell-offs.

The Australian stock market is trading notably higher on Tuesday, snapping a three-session losing streak, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving up to near the 7,400 level, with gains across all sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks as some traders picked stocks at a bargain after the recent slump.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 33.10 points or 0.45 percent to 7,376.40, after touching a high of 7,401.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 32.80 points or 0.44 percent to 7,557.10. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is advancing 1.5 percent, while Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy and Santos are adding almost 2 percent each, while Woodside Energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is losing more than 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is soaring more than 11 percent, Zip is skyrocketing more than 13 percent and Appen is surging more than 7 percent, while Xero and WiseTech Global are adding more than 2 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining is gaining more than 3 percent, Northern Star resources is up more than 1 percent, Resolute Mining is advancing 2.5 percent, Gold Road Resources is rising almost 3 percent and Newmont is adding almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are adding more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.603 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is skyrocketing on Tuesday, snapping a three-session losing streak, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with the Nikkei 225 soaring more than 6 percent to above the 33,000 mark, with string gains across all sectors led by index heavyweights and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 33,030.66, up 1,894.08 points or 6.08 percent, after touching a high of 33,080.03 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is soaring almost 11 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is surging more than 6 percent and Toyota is advancing almost 8 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are soaring almost 12 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is surging more than 9 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is soaring almost 12 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is surging more than 10 percent and Mizuho Financial is advancing almost 13 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Canon is surging almost 7 percent, Sony is soaring more than 8 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is advancing almost 10 percent and Panasonic is gaining almost 6 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Fujikura is skyrocketing more than 19 percent and Japan Steel Works is spiking almost 18 percent, while Resona Holdings, Konica Minolta and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are soaring almost 14 percent each. Hitachi is surging more than 13 percent, while Furukawa Electric, Renesas Electronics and Sumitomo Electric Industries are gaining almost 13 percent each. Socionext and Tokio Marine Holdings are adding more than 12 percent each. Taiyo Yuden is advancing almost 12 percent.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

In economic news, Japan posted a current account surplus of 4.061 trillion yen in February, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday, up 48.4 percent on year. That beat forecasts for a surplus of 3.80 trillion yen following the 258 billion yen deficit in January.

Imports were down 1.9 percent on year to 8.292 trillion yen and exports rose an annual 10.4 percent to 9.005 trillion yen for a trade surplus of 712.9 billion yen. The capital account saw a shortfall of 42.2 billion yen, while the financial account posted a surplus of 2.307 trillion yen.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 147 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia and Taiwan are plunging 9.2 and 3.9 percent, respectively. Singapore is down 1.9 percent. New Zealand, Hong Kong and South Korea are lower by between 1.3 and 2.3 percent each. China and Malaysia are down 0.4 each. On Wall Street, stocks saw substantial volatility over the course of the trading day on Monday following the nosedive seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages spent the day swinging back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing mixed.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 15.48 points or 0.1 percent to 15,603.26 after plummeting by more than 5 percent in early trading, the S&P 500 dipped 11.83 points or 0.2 percent to 5,062.25 and the Dow slid 349.26 points or 0.9 percent to 37,965.60.

Meanwhile, the major European markets showed significant moves to the downside. While the French CAC 40 Index plunged by 4.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 4.4 percent and the German DAX Index slumped by 4.1 percent.

Crude oil prices tumbled again on Monday, extending the nosedive seen over the two previous sessions over tariff concerns. After plummeting nearly $10 a barrel last Thursday and Friday, West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery dropped $1.29 or 2.1 percent to $60.70 a barrel.