Asian shares mostly advanced on Monday, buoyed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent describing preparatory talks in New York with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng as very successful ahead of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington.
Financial markets across Asia moved higher as investors tracked high-level diplomatic updates ahead of the expected meeting between Washington and Beijing this week. The upcoming discussions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are anticipated to address critical global friction points, including trade, artificial intelligence development, and broader geopolitics.
Market optimism received a direct boost after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the U.S. had a very successful engagement
with the Chinese delegation following talks in New York with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
Trade Discussions and Tariff Reductions on the Agenda
Economic discussions between the world’s two largest economies have increasingly zeroed in on specific commercial barriers. China and the United States have actively discussed reciprocal tariff reductions covering $30 billion worth of goods from each side. These trade talks formed a central component of the preliminary meetings between Bessent and He Lifeng ahead of the presidential meeting.
Beyond bilateral commerce, the agenda for the Trump-Xi meeting is expected to span multiple diplomatic fronts. Discussions will likely encompass trade regulations, artificial intelligence safety, and regional security concerns, including the ongoing war in Iran, wider developments in the Middle East, and diplomatic ties between China and Iran.
Regional Market Movements and Tech Sector Strength
Asian equity markets reflected the positive sentiment, even as global technology sectors weighed competing currents. Technology stocks moved higher driven by ongoing enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, despite American tech leaders calling for a slowdown in development due to safety concerns.
- South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.8% to 7,018.98, led by a 5% jump in Samsung Electronics and a 1% climb by memory chipmaker SK Hynix.
- Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 1.1%, boosted by a 0.6% gain for leading AI chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC.
- Hong Kong’s Heng Seng advanced 0.6% to 24,891.58.
- The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.6% to 3,933.37.
- India’s Sensex also rose 0.6%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 remained nearly unchanged at 8,730.40. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was closed through Wednesday for a holiday.
Global Energy Shifts and Monetary Policy Pressures
Energy markets experienced downward pressure as physical oil flows shifted. Oil prices fell early Monday because vessel traffic and energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz picked up. Despite this relief, the Strait has remained largely closed amid lingering uncertainties in U.S.-Iran tensions. Additional pressures on global oil supplies stemmed from tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis, alongside Saudi Arabia’s closure of a key oil pipeline.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2.1% to $101.67 per barrel—notably down from roughly $72 a barrel in late February before the start of the war in Iran. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 2.2% to $93.99 per barrel. In currency markets, the U.S. dollar rose to 157.02 Japanese yen from 156.81 yen, while the euro traded at $1.1476, slipping from $1.1483.
Bond Yields and Central Bank Actions
Investors continued to closely monitor fixed-income markets as macroeconomic tightening rippled globally. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury hit 5%, arriving on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s decision last week to raise rates for the first time in three years. Simultaneously, the Bank of Japan raised rates to a 31-year high last week. Government bond yields have remained elevated due to growing inflationary pressures driven by the wartime energy shock and rising U.S. national debt.
