Asian stocks looked set to edge higher on Tuesday despite continued investor concerns about a trade war between the U.S. and China.
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago were higher by 0.06 percent compared to the benchmark’s Monday close. Australian SPI futures were up by 0.57 percent at the end of the last session.
U.S. stocks mostly fell on investor jitters over a looming trade war between the U.S. and China. Monday’s declines came after the Trump administration on Friday announced that the U.S. would impose a 25 percent tariff on up to $50 billion of Chinese products. Tariffs on an initial list of goods worth some $34 billion will kick in on July 6.
In response, China announced tariffs on the same total value of products, with duties on $34 billion of U.S. goods expected to be implemented in July.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged down by 0.41 percent, or 103.01 points, to close at 24,987.47, the S&P 500 ended lower by 0.21 percent at 2,773.75 and the Nasdaq composite finished the session little changed at 7,747.03.
On the commodities front, oil prices advanced on Monday, recovering some of the losses made on Friday. Analysts attributed gains to reports that oil producers were discussing a smaller-than-expected increase in production.
Output cuts holding back some 1.8 million barrels per day have been in place since 2017 in a bid to prop up prices. Oil exporters, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, will meet in Vienna later this week to discuss those production limits.
Brent crude futures settled $1.90 higher at $75.34 per barrel and U.S. crude futures tacked on 79 cents to settle at $65.85.
Meanwhile, in corporate news, Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings sued Xerox on Monday for more than $1 billion after the latter dropped a proposed merger in May.
Here’s the economic calendar for Tuesday (all times in HK/SIN):
- 8:30 a.m.: Reserve Bank of Australia minutes
- 9:30 a.m.: Australia house price index
