Asia-Pacific markets rose Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington and India had struck a trade deal and would immediately begin cutting tariffs on each other’s goods. Trump added that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to step up purchases of U.S. products, according to a Truth Social post on Monday following a call between the two leaders. Under the deal, India will also stop its purchases of Russian crude oil and instead buy more from the U.S., and potentially, Venezuela, Trump added. India’s Nifty 50 rose nearly 5% at the open. It was last up 2.73%, while the Sensex index added 2.66%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose more than 3% to a record high, while the Topix added 2.34%.
U.S. equities rose on Monday as Wall Street began a new month of trading, with investors looking past the recent losses in silver and bitcoin. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 515.19 points, or 1.05%, closing at 49,407.66, while the S&P 500 was up 0.54% and settled at 6,976.44. The Nasdaq Composite also gained 0.56% and ended at 23,592.11. Bitcoin dropped below $80,000 for the first time since April, a sign investors were taking more risk off the table following Friday’s sharp declines in gold and silver. Silver, which has more than doubled over the past 12 months, plunged around 30% on Friday. That marked the metal’s worst one-day performance since 1980. Gold futures fell about 11% that day.
Gold rose more than 3% to above $4,800 per ounce on Tuesday, as bargain hunting emerged after two consecutive sessions of strong selling. The precious metal had fallen nearly 5% in the previous day, extending Friday’s slump, which marked its steepest decline in more than a decade. The selloff was triggered by news of President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair, who is viewed as more hawkish than other contenders, raising concerns about tighter monetary policy. Despite recent volatility, gold remained supported by strong central bank purchases and the so-called “debasement trade,” as investors rotated into physical assets from currencies and bonds amid growing fiscal concerns. Global uncertainty, as well as worries over the Fed’s independence, further reinforced gold’s appeal as a safe-haven asset.
WTI crude oil futures fell below $62 per barrel on Tuesday, extending the biggest decline in six months as geopolitical tensions eased. The US and Iran announced that they would resume talks on Friday, aiming to revive diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program and reduce the risk of a wider regional conflict. The renewed negotiations alleviated concerns about potential disruptions to Middle East oil supplies. Additionally, Trump said he would lower tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 18% after Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to halt purchases of Russian oil and increase imports from the US and potentially Venezuela.
The U.S. and India have reached a trade deal and will immediately move to lower tariffs on each other’s goods, President Donald Trump announced. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also agreed to buy American products “at a much higher level” as part of the agreement, Trump said in a Truth Social post Monday following a call with the Indian leader. Modi additionally committed to “stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela,” Trump said in the post. Trump’s announcement asserts the agreements struck on the call will take effect without delay, but the text of the deal has yet to materialize and it is unclear if anything has been signed. The White House and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for additional information.
Australia’s central bank raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.85% on Tuesday, marking the Reserve Bank of Australia’s first rate hike since November 2023 as inflation continues to climb. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s move matched expectations from economists polled by Reuters and followed data showing inflation at its highest level in six quarters. “Private demand is growing more quickly than expected, capacity pressures are greater than previously assessed and labour market conditions are a little tight,” according to the central bank’s statement, noting that inflationary pressure picked up “materially” in the second half of last year. Senior RBA officials have repeatedly pushed back against expectations of rate cuts.
President Donald Trump on Monday said a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell should continue, shrugging off a Republican senator’s vow to block Trump’s Fed chair replacement pick unless the probe is dropped. U.S. Attorney for Washington Jeanine Pirro, who is leading the unprecedented probe of the central bank chairman, should “take it to the end and see,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The president had been asked if Pirro ought to abandon her efforts in light of Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., declaring on Friday that he will oppose any new Fed nominee until the Powell investigation is fully resolved. Tillis drew that line in the sand on the same day that Trump, after a monthslong audition process, announced Kevin Warsh as his pick to succeed Powell as Fed chair.
U.S. lawmakers in Congress are nearing a resolution aimed ending a partial government shutdown, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday. Trump told reporters that he had spoken with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune and they indicated that "they’re pretty close to a resolution." He said he had also spoken with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer numerous times and did not believe Democrats wanted to see a shutdown. A partial shutdown took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time (0501 GMT) after Congress failed to approve a deal to keep a wide swath of operations funded, but it is expected to be brief, with lawmakers from both parties working to reach a deal. Johnson said on Sunday he believes he has the Republican votes to end a partial government shutdown within days and that the chamber will debate Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms for two weeks after that.
President Donald Trump announced the establishment of a U.S. critical mineral reserve late Monday, sending shares of miners higher in extended trading. The proposal, known as Project Vault, would launch a first-of-its-kind strategic critical minerals stockpile designed for the U.S. private sector, the president said, speaking at the White House on Monday afternoon. The plan pairs $1.67 billion in private capital with a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, according to a White House official. Trump’s move is aimed at cutting America’s dependence on China for materials essential to electric vehicles, defense systems and advanced technology. MP Materials, the operator of the Mountain Pass
Elon Musk said on Monday that SpaceX has acquired his artificial-intelligence startup xAI in a record-setting deal that unifies Musk’s AI and space ambitions by combining the rocket-and-satellite company with the maker of the Grok chatbot. The deal, first reported by Reuters last week, represents one of the most ambitious tie-ups in the technology sector yet, combining a space-and-defense contractor with a fast-growing AI developer whose costs are largely driven by chips, data centers and energy. It could also bolster SpaceX’s data-center ambitions as Musk competes with rivals like Alphabet’s Google, Meta, Amazon-backed Anthropic and OpenAI in the AI sector. The transaction values SpaceX at $1 trillion, and xAI at $250 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Walt Disney’s warning that a decline in international visitors to its U.S. theme parks and a slump in earnings at its TV and film division sent shares down nearly 5% in trading on Monday, just as it readies a successor to outgoing CEO Bob Iger. The company said there were "headwinds" among international visitors without giving a reason at a time when foreign travel to the United States has been waning. CFO Hugh Johnston added that Disney is focusing promotional efforts on U.S. consumers, as it has "less visibility" into international visitors. Disney’s entertainment unit, which includes the company’s film studios, television networks and streaming services, reported a 35% drop in operating profit due to the cost of marketing a heavy slate of theatrical releases that included box-office hits "Zootopia 2" and “Avatar: Fire and Ash."
Warner Bros Discovery is likely to hold a shareholder vote on the $82.7 billion deal to sell its streaming and studio assets to Netflix in March, CNBC reported on Monday. The HBO owner said no date has been set for the shareholder vote yet and it will be set once the preliminary proxy filing becomes final. Netflix did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. A green light from investors would move the deal forward, but it could face intense scrutiny from U.S. and European competition authorities, who will assess if the combination would reduce competition or limit consumer choice. If shareholders were to reject the Netflix deal, Paramount Skydance is expected to continue escalating pressure and attempt to replace Warner Bros’ board members with directors more open to reviewing or approving its hostile $108.4 billion offer, Reuters reported.