SHANGHAI, CHINA – AUGUST 14, 2025 – Tourists are visiting the Bund in Shanghai, China on August 14, 2025.
Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened higher Wednesday, breaking ranks with Wall Street’s declines after U.S. and China exchanged blows in a renewed trade feud.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday stateside criticized China for not buying soybeans, calling it an “an economically hostile act.” He also threatened “retribution” such as a cooking oil embargo.
“Volatility remains elevated, and the best explanation is the strained relationship between the U.S. and China,” Veteran investor Louis Navellier wrote in a note published Wednesday.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3%, while the Topix added 0.75%. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.8%, while the small-cap Kosdaq added 0.83%.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 was up 0.93%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was set to open higher, with its futures contract trading at 25,763, against the index’s previous close of 25,441.35.
Investors will be keeping an eye on China’s inflation data for September coming out later in the morning.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 closed down 0.2% to 6,644.31 in a wild day that saw the benchmark fall as much as 1.5% and gain 0.4% at its highs.
The Nasdaq Composite was off by 0.8% to 22,521.70, although at one point it had fallen as much as 2.1%.The Dow Jones Industrial average closed up 0.4%, or 202.88 points, to 46,270.46 after gaining nearly 1% at one point.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday suggested the central bank is nearing a point where it will stop reducing the size of its bond holdings, and provided a few hints that more interest rate cuts are in the cards.
— CNBC’s Liz Napolitano and Fred Imbert contributed to this report.
