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Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump ruled out a deadline extension on tariffs which are set to kick off on Aug. 1.
Trump on Tuesday stateside also announced a 50% levy on copper imports and indicated that further sector-specific tariffs will be announced soon.
He also threatened to impose up to 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S., but said that he will "give people about a year, year and a half" until the duties go into effect.
Here are the opening calls for the day
Good morning from Singapore.
Investors will also be keeping a close watch on a slew of data points from China today, including the producer price index for June. Economists polled by Reuters expect the figure to contract by 3.2% year on year, compared with the 3.3% decline in the month before. Meanwhile, the country's consumer price inflation reading is forecast to come in flat year on year, from a 0.1% decline in May.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open higher, with the futures contract in Chicago at 40,055 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 39820, against the index's Tuesday close of 39,688.81.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 24,102 pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI's last close of 24,148,07.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was also set to start the day lower with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,571, compared to its last close of 8,590.70.
U.S. stock futures were little changed in early Asian hours as investors monitor the latest Trump's tariff updates.
Overnight stateside two of the three key benchmarks on Wall Street ended near the flatline.
The broad-based S&P 500 benchmark inched down 0.07%, ending at 6,225.52, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.03% and closed at 20,418.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 165.60 points, or 0.37%, settling at 44,240.76.
— Amala Balakrishner
English (US)