Asian Markets Rise as Tariff Talks and US Data Loom
Asian shares rose on Monday, while the US dollar remained steady, as investors focused on upcoming US inflation data and corporate earnings amid ongoing global trade discussions.
Bitcoin hit a record high on Monday, overtaking gold as the fastest-growing investment of the year.
The cryptocurrency surged to $123,205 after a 14% rise over the past week, marking a gain of nearly one-third since the start of the year. It later slipped back below $120,000.
Over the past 12 months, Bitcoin has doubled in value, outperforming gold’s 38% rise and the S&P 500’s 11% increase.
Oil prices dipped slightly after Donald Trump gave Russia a 50-day ultimatum to end the war in Ukraine or face 100% tariffs on its major trading partners. He also indicated he was open to further talks following his weekend threat to impose 30% tariffs on the EU and Mexico starting August 1. Japan is reportedly set to hold high-level talks with the US this Friday.
Despite the tariff uncertainty, market reaction remained calm. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index (excluding Japan) rose 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei advanced 0.5%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones gained 0.2% to 44,459.65, the S&P 500 edged up 0.1% to 6,268.56, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.3% to 20,640.33.
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose to 4.439%, up from 4.417% late Sunday.
