Asia-Pacific markets declined on Tuesday as investors awaited developments from the ongoing United States-China trade talks and looked ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision due midweek.
At 11:35 am AEST (1:35 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.8%, and South Korea’s Kospi 200 edged 0.1% lower, reflecting caution across the region.
The high-level talks are being led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. In an interview with Fox Business last week, Bessent expressed optimism that the negotiations would yield a trade truce extension.
He also noted that discussions would touch on broader geopolitical concerns, including China’s oil purchases from Russia and Iran.
The renewed negotiations come on the heels of a separate U.S.-EU trade agreement announced by President Donald Trump on Sunday. The accord, which imposes a 15% tariff on most European goods, is part of a broader realignment of U.S. trade relationships.
Meanwhile, market participants are focused on the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting, which concludes Wednesday U.S. time (Thursday AEST). While the central bank is expected to keep rates steady at 4.25% to 4.5%, any shift in tone regarding a potential rate cut later this year could sway markets.
Wall Street closed little changed overnight, despite hitting record territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%, the S&P 500 was flat, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 3%.
In commodities, Brent crude climbed 2.5% to US$69.32 per barrel, while spot gold fell 0.7% to US$3,314.5 per ounce.
Chinese equities were mostly lower, with the Shanghai Composite dipping 0.1% to 3,595.8 and the CSI 300 also down 0.1% to 4,132.7.
In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.7% to close at 25,562.1, while India’s BSE Sensex dropped 0.7% to 80,891.0.
In Europe, markets closed broadly lower. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4% to 9,081.4, Germany’s DAX lost 1% to end at 23,970.4, and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.4% to 7,800.9.
