Stock market today: World stocks are mixed as Trump's talk of tariffs raises uncertainty
HONG KONG (AP) — European markets opened higher while Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump's latest comments on tariffs raised uncertainty in Chinese markets.
France’s CAC 40 gained 0.7% to 7,827.19, and Germany’s DAX added 1% to 21,253.12. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.4% to 8,578.57.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.4% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.
Investors in Asia were relieved on Monday after Trump decided not to immediately impose significant tariffs on China. But on Tuesday, Trump said he was considering a 10% punitive duty on Chinese imports over concerns about fentanyl being smuggled from China to the U.S. via Mexico and Canada.
Trump has promised sweeping moves to reshape global trade and the economy, often at the expense of other countries.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.6% to 19,778.77, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.9% to 3,213.62.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was up 1.6% at 39,646.25 after Trump announced a joint venture that aims to invest up to $500 billion in infrastructure related to artificial intelligence. Softbank Group Corp.'s Japan-listed shares surged 10.6% on Wednesday.
Taiwan’s Taiex also gained 1% after Trump's AI investment push, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. increasing by 1.3%.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi added 1.2% to 2,547.06 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 8,429.80.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to 6,049.24, while many markets around the world took only tentative steps following Trump’s return to the White House on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to 44,025.81, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.6% to 19,756.78.
U.S. Treasury yields gave back some of their big recent gains that had cranked up the pressure on stock markets worldwide, while bitcoin pulled back from its record set the day before. The 10-year Treasury yield has been falling since an encouraging update on inflation last week, but it’s still well above where it was in September, when it was below 3.65%.
In the foreign-currency market, the values of both the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar fell against the U.S. dollar after Trump said he expects to put 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting on Feb. 1.
In the cryptocurrency market, which has surged amid hopes Trump will make Washington friendlier to the industry, bitcoin pulled back from its record above $109,000 set on Monday and was trading just above $105,000 early Wednesday, according to CoinDesk.
Also early Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude gained 29 cents to $76.12 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 31 cents at $79.60 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 155.70 Japanese yen from 155.51 yen. The euro cost $1.0440, down from $1.0430.
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