Asian markets stumbled and gold reached a new record high as investors kept a close watch on the tariff exchanges between China and the United States.
After a week-long break, Shanghai and Hong Kong were among the biggest losers. E-commerce companies in the region suffered after news emerged that the US Postal Service would suspend inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong.
Despite a boost from Wall Street—where relief was felt after President Donald Trump secured a deal to delay 25% duties on imports from Canada and Mexico—the overall market performance remained subdued.
Analysts noted that although trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have intensified, China’s comparatively measured approach offers hope that a full-blown crisis might be averted.
In Hong Kong, the market fell by more than 1%, with e-commerce giant JD.com dropping nearly 4% and rival Alibaba also slipping after the postal suspension was announced. Trump’s tariff announcement on China also removed an allowance that had previously exempted small packages (valued under $800) from duties, though letters and flat mail were not affected.
Shanghai’s market experienced a decline as it reopened, while other markets—including Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok, and Jakarta—also retreated. Meanwhile, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, and Manila recorded gains. In Tokyo, earlier losses were reversed; however, Nissan plunged 4.9% after reports that it had withdrawn from merger talks with Honda, whose shares subsequently surged more than 8%.
Gold hit a new high at $2,866.54 per ounce as investors flocked to the safe-haven metal.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.4% after the temporary avoidance of tariffs on Mexico and Canada. In the bond market, the yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes dropped to 4.510% from 4.569% late Monday.
