Asian stocks were subdued as investors awaited earnings from major tech firms and remained uneasy over the uncertain future of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
Chipmaker TSMC, a key supplier of advanced AI semiconductors, is expected to report record second-quarter profits. However, its outlook may be clouded by rising US tariffs and a strong Taiwan dollar. Netflix is also due to release its earnings later.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific index outside Japan edged up 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.3%.
Market sentiment was dominated by confusion over Powell’s position at the Fed. Reports suggesting Donald Trump planned to remove him initially rattled markets, sending stocks and the dollar lower. Trump later denied the reports, offering some relief, but kept the possibility open and renewed criticism of Powell for not cutting interest rates.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose 0.5% to 44,254.78, the S&P 500 gained 0.3% to 6,263.70, and the Nasdaq climbed by a similar margin to 20,730.49.
In bond markets, the yield on 10-year US Treasuries slipped to 4.453% from 4.489% the previous day.
