- Asian Stocks Gain for Third Day as US Futures Slip: Markets Wrap
Asian stocks rose for a third day, buoyed by advances in Japan and Hong Kong, in an extension of a recent
shift toward non-US assets amid uncertainties unleashed by Donald Trump. Hong Kong equity benchmarks
gained about 2%, boosted by BYD Co. shares at a record after it unveiled a new charging system for electric
cars. Japanese gauges were up more than 1% after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. increased its stakes in the
country’s biggest trading houses, underscoring expectations of longer-term growth prospects. US equity
futures retreated, while those in Europe edged higher. Global investors are hunting for opportunities
elsewhere after US stocks tipped into a correction earlier this month, with Chinese and Japanese equities
among the beneficiaries in Asia. A pivot by China toward stoking domestic consumption in Monday’s briefing,
which would make the economy less vulnerable to tariffs, is helping to fuel a re-balancing. - Dow closes more than 300 points higher Monday, S&P 500 posts back-to-back gains
Stocks rose on Monday, building on their comeback from a four-week rout on Wall Street exacerbated by
President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff policy rollout and falling consumer confidence. The S&P 500 gained
0.64% to close at 5,675.12, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.31% and ended at 17,808.66. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average also advanced 353.44 points, or 0.85%, to end at 41,841.63. The 30-stock index was
bolstered by gains in Walmart and International Business Machines. All three of the major averages posted
back-to-back gains. - Oil prices muted as slowdown worries offset China data, Middle East risks
Oil prices were little changed in early trading on Tuesday as global growth concerns, U.S. tariffs and Russia
Ukraine ceasefire talks offset increased instability in the Middle East that could impact supply. Brent futures
ticked up 10 cents, or 0.14%, to $71.17 a barrel by 0135 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude
futures rose 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $67.65 a barrel. “Fundamentally the economic uncertainties overshadow
geopolitical tensions,” said independent market analyst Tina Teng. “China’s positive data needs to be
sustained to gain market confidence as the global demand outlook is still weak amid tariffs and ceasefire talks
for the Ukraine war.” On Monday, Chinese economic data showing that retail sales growth quickened in
January-February gave investors reasons for optimism, although factory output fell and the urban jobless rate
reached its highest in two years. Prices also continued to gain support from President Donald Trump’s vow to
continue the U.S. assault on Yemen’s Houthis unless the group ends its attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, talks on Tuesday between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the Ukraine
war were in focus. Markets believe a potential peace negotiation would involve the easing of sanctions on
Russia and the return of Russian crude supply to global markets, weighing on prices. Highlighting ongoing
concerns about demand, the other key downside risk for oil, the OECD said on Monday that Trump’s tariffs
would drag down growth in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, which would weigh on global energy demand. - Gold hits record high as tariff uncertainty fuels safe-haven demand
Gold prices scaled a record peak above the crucial $3,000-mark on Tuesday for the second time within a
week, as investors sought cover from economic concerns fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff
policies. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $3,008.08 an ounce as of 0249 GMT after hitting a record high of $3,012.05
per ounce earlier in the session. Gold rose above the $3,000/oz milestone for the first time on Friday.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $3,017.60. Historically considered a hedge against geopolitical instability, gold
has risen more than 14% so far this year. Since Trump took office in January, gold has hit a record high 14
times as trade tensions have boosted safe-haven demand. Trump has floated plans for a series of U.S. tariffs,
from a flat 25% on steel and aluminum which came into effect in February, and reciprocal and sectoral tariffs
that he said will be imposed on April 2. “Gold is moving higher on account of a weaker dollar and continued
tariff uncertainties … With Gold at record highs there is a lot of technical and chart based buying that kicks in
since there is no resistance apparent on the charts,” said Marex analyst Edward Meir. The U.S. dollar
index wallowed near a five-month trough, making gold cheaper for overseas buyers. New economic
projections from Federal Reserve officials this week will provide the most tangible evidence yet of the likely
impact of Trump administration policies. - China’s Xi may visit US in not-too-distant future, Trump says
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping may visit the United
States “in the not-too-distant future” for talks as economic tensions escalate between the powers. Trump has
slapped 20% levies on all imports from China since taking office in January, faulting Beijing for not halting the
flow of chemicals used to make illegal fentanyl, a leading cause of U.S. drug overdose deaths. Trump has
voiced optimism in recent weeks about having a good relationship with Xi. But there has been little sign of
progress on a range of issues splitting the nations, from tariffs to Taiwan. China objects to the tariffs and says
it has taken serious action on counter-narcotics. Beijing has imposed a limited set of its own retaliatory trade
actions. “He’ll be coming,” Trump said, “in the not-too-distant future.” Trump made the comments as an
aside during a board meeting at the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington. The U.S.
president has said tariffs are needed to rebalance uneven trade relations with foreign countries and to raise
revenue for the government. He has largely rejected investor fears that the levies could slow growth and
raise inflation. The White House did not respond to a request for further comment. The Chinese embassy in
Washington did not respond to a request for comment. - Death toll rises to 100, says Palestinian health ministry
The Israeli military said it hit targets across Gaza early on Tuesday, ending a weeks-long standoff over
extending the ceasefire that halted fighting in January, with Palestinian health ministry officials reporting at
least 100 dead, according to a report from Reuters news. Strikes were reported in multiple locations,
including northern Gaza, Gaza City and the Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah in central and southern Gaza
Strip. Palestinian health ministry officials said many of the dead were children. - Russia Is Wooing Arctic Gas Buyers With Life After US Sanctions
From a cramped booth in a crowded conference center on New Delhi’s outskirts, executives from one of
Russia’s biggest energy firms made their sales pitch to Indian buyers — take our Arctic gas now, while it’s still
cheap. A flagship project in the far north, Arctic LNG 2 was intended as a symbol of Russia’s enduring gas
might, even with only minimal pipeline sales to Europe. Targeted by US sanctions, however, the $21 billion
plus facility led by Novatek PJSC halted production last year. It began to assemble a shadow fleet of liquefied
natural gas tankers to keep the super-chilled fuel moving, but those vessels remain idled. - Tesla
The electric vehicle stock slipped 4.8% following a price target cut from Mizuho. Analysts expressed their
caution on weaker EV sales ahead, but they still stood by their outperform rating. Mizuho’s reduced the price
forecast to $430, down from $515. - Lululemon Athletica shares rose 5.2% after Truist Securities said the activewear company’s momentum
on TikTok is “surging” and outpacing trends for other brands over 30-day and 120-day time periods
Momentum for #lululemon on TikTok appears to be exceeding interest for #ulta (Ulta Beauty), #abercrombie
and #hollister (Abercrombie & Fitch) and #zara (Inditex), analyst Joseph Civello wrote. He anticipates
Lululemon momentum will “continue surging”.“Their improving product assortment in the US (which is
expected to reach historical levels of newness in 1Q25) is helping to reaccelerate LULU’s business in the
region while they are also benefiting from lapping softer comparisons from last year”. Rates LULU buy with
PT $460. - Intel climbed 6.8% after a regulatory filing from Friday revealed that incoming CEO Lip-Bu Tan will
purchase $25 million worth of company shares within 30 days of his appointment
Intel is also awarding Tan various equity grants and stock options amounting to $66 million. These include
$14.4 million in performance stock units, $9.6 million in stock options, a $25 million option grant for new
hires and a $17 million grant of performance stock units. The structure gives Tan immediate financial
alignment with the moves he makes at Intel. However, Tan’s intention to also buy a significant amount of
stock provided a confident signal to investors. - Baidu shares jump 10% following release of new open-source AI models
Shares of Chinese tech giant Baidu were trading up 10.7% in Asia on Tuesday, as investors appeared to react
positively to the release of two new AI models over the weekend. Baidu released two new artificial
intelligence models on Sunday, including the latest version of its foundational “Ernie” model and a new
reasoning model that it said rivaled DeepSeek’s R1 model. CNBC is not able to verify these claims. A
reasoning model is a large language model designed to process complex problems in a similar way to
humans, breaking prompts down into smaller pieces and considering multiple approaches before generating
responses. According to Kai Wang, a senior equity analyst for Morningstar, the stock jump is likely a “delayed
reaction” to the new models as Baidu vies to regain a leading position in China’s AI space. “The stock also
hasn’t gotten as much love as the other hyperscalers but still it’s a platform that stands to benefit from
greater AI demand since enterprises will need someone to help them with hosting, scaling, and computing
power,” he said. A hyperscaler refers to a major cloud computing company that provides massive data
centers for computing storage and demands. - AMD Stock Climbs as Chipmaker’s Gaming GPUs Gain Market Share in Japan
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares climbed Monday as the chipmaker’s gaming GPUs gained market
share in Japan. At a product launch event in Japan, AMD said its latest Radeon series offerings have helped
boost its market share to 45% in Japan, according to a report from Tom’s Hardware. The company competes
with Nvidia (NVDA), which has been hindered by supply chain issues. “AMD isn’t used to selling [so many]
graphics cards,” AMD Japan Marketing Manager Yoshiaki Sato reportedly said. Shares of AMD rose close to
4% Monday, but have lost nearly half of their value over the past 12 months amid concerns about
the chipmaker’s AI revenue and ability to compete with Nvidia.
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