Asia Mixed Amid U.S.-China Trade Truce

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday after the U.S.-China talks in Sweden ended without a tariff truce extension Tuesday stateside. A postponement of higher duties won’t be final until President Donald Trump signs off on the plan, U.S. negotiators said. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 19.85 points, or 0.1%, to 40,654.70. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dumped 347.52 points, or 1.4%, to 25,176.93. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also affirmed that President Donald Trump’s upcoming Friday deadline to impose major tariffs on a slew of trading partners will not be delayed further. However, Lutnick noted that trade negotiations with China are progressing on a separate timeline, as he told the media. Europe’s largest lender HSBC on Wednesday missed second-quarter profit expectations, mostly on account of impairment charges, according to the bank. The bank also announced a share buyback of $3 billion. It reported profit before tax for the three months ended June of $6.3 billion, down 29% from a year ago. In other markets In Shanghai, the CSI 300 let go of 0.78 points to 4,151.24. In Korea, the Kospi index added 23.9 points, or 0.7%, to 3,254.47. In Singapore, the Straits Times index dropped 10 points, or 0.2%, to 4,219.41. In Taiwan, the Taiex index popped 260.2 points, or 1.1%, to 23,461.72. In New Zealand, the NZX 50 ditched 80.44 points, or 0.6%, to 12,855.97. In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 51.75 points, or 0.6%, to 8,756.37.