Global shares rose on Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street as investors shrugged off a week of trade turmoil and disappointing U.S. tech earnings. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.6% to finish at 39,066.53. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.2% to 8,520.70.
South Korea’s Kospi edged up 1.1% to 2,536.75. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.4% to 20,891.62, while the Shanghai Composite added 1.3% to 3,270.66. European shares hit a record high, and gold remains near all-time peaks.
These gains come as traders refocus on the trajectory of global interest rates following several days of worries related to trade war dynamics. In Japan, shares of Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Corp.
both rose after Japanese media reported they were ditching their talks to set up a joint holding company. Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida has proposed to terminate merger talks with Honda, according to a report by Asahi.
Global shares track Wall Street gains
The companies are expected to hold board meetings to discuss the termination. Chinese stocks have performed well lately following news on Chinese tech startup DeepSeek, which appears to have caught up with American companies at the forefront of generative AI at a fraction of the cost. Uncertainty is also hanging over the global economy due to trade tensions.
Traders are closely watching for potential talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Trump. Although no call has taken place yet, markets may find some relief in the absence of new trade hostilities. Meanwhile, Treasury yields have dropped to their lowest levels in over a month, signaling ongoing investor concern.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dropped 10 basis points to trade at 4.412% on Wednesday afternoon. The decline follows the Treasury Department’s announcement of incremental increases to Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) sizes. In India, the central bank is expected to cut benchmark interest rates in an ongoing policy meeting in an effort to stimulate a faltering economy.
The Reserve Bank of India is poised to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% as it concludes its policy meeting on Friday, potentially starting a shallow rate cut cycle, said Taimur Baig, chief economist at DBS Bank. Bank of Japan board member Naoki Tamura stated on Thursday that it is necessary for the BOJ to lift short-term interest rates to contain upside risks to prices and achieve the price stability target sustainably. Tamura indicated that the country’s economy is likely to reach a state by the second half of fiscal 2025 where the BOJ’s 2% price stability target would be met, coinciding with confirmed annual wage hikes.
