Global Markets Mixed as Trump’s Asia Visit Heightens Geopolitical Tensions
UK stocks traded flat on Tuesday while Asian markets slipped, as investors weighed Donald Trump’s visit to Japan ahead of his upcoming high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.
The US president is scheduled to meet Xi in South Korea on Thursday, following talks in Tokyo with newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Trump reaffirmed that the United States was “an ally at the strongest level,” underscoring the close ties between Washington and Tokyo.
The White House also announced a new US–Japan agreement on rare earth supply, a strategically vital sector long dominated by China, which could further strain relations between Washington and Beijing.
Prime Minister Takaichi described Japan as facing an “unprecedented severe security environment,” reflecting the geopolitical backdrop of Trump’s Asia tour.
Markets across the region reacted negatively, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.6% after briefly surging past 50,000 points on Monday for the first time. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, and Sydney all closed lower, while Seoul pared earlier losses to finish down 0.8%.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 was little changed, while other major European indexes opened in the red.
Overnight on Wall Street, all three major US indices hit record closing highs — the Dow Jones gained 0.7% to 47,544.59, the S&P 500 climbed 1.2% to 6,875.16, and the Nasdaq advanced 1.9% to 23,637.46.
In bond markets, the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes — a benchmark for global borrowing costs — eased to 3.979%, down from 4.029% late on Sunday, as traders sought safety amid geopolitical uncertainty.
