ARTICLE AD BOX
People walking through the neon lit night streets of Sinchon in the heart of Seoul, South Korea’s vibrant capital city.
Fotovoyager | E+ | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Wednesday as investors brace for U.S. President Donald Trump to roll out fresh tariffs this week.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.63% higher at the open.
Japan's Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a higher open for the market. The futures contract in Chicago was at 35,935 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 35,720 compared to the index's previous close of 35,624.48.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures last traded at 23,150, lower than the HSI's Tuesday close of 23,206.64.
U.S. stock futures moved higher as Wall Street awaits the expected rollout of President Donald Trump's tariffs on Wednesday.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages closed mixed. The S&P 500 added 0.38% to close at 5,633.07 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.87% and ended at 17,449.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 11.80 points, or 0.03%, to settle at 41,989.96
While markets are likely to be volatile in the near term, UBS analysts expect news flow to become "more positive" toward the second half of the year.
"We think investors can use market swings to build long-term exposure. Investors should therefore consider taking advantage of market dips to buy into broad U.S. equities and companies exposed to AI," the investment bank wrote in a note.
CNBC's Brian Evans and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
S&P 500 closes higher on eve of tariff announcement
The S&P 500 closed higher on Tuesday in yet another volatile session that saw the broad market index seesaw between gains and losses, as investors anxiously await the rollout of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
The S&P 500 added 0.38% to finish the session at 5,633.07, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.87% to 17,449.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 11.80 points, or 0.03%, to close at 41,989.96.
— Brian Evans
The risks around April 2 are 'not small,' Wells Fargo Securities says
Christopher Harvey, head of equity strategy at Wells Fargo Securities, said he remains constructive on the long-term outlook for stocks, but warned investors not to underestimate the potential risks around the April 2nd tariff announcement.
"We remain constructive on equities longer term given: (1) potential monetary stimulus (i.e., 75+ bps of 2025 Fed rate cuts) starting by mid-year; (2) anticipated tax bill movement (and possible enactment) this summer; and (3) several uber-caps already look oversold (TSLA, AVGO, NVDA)," Harvey wrote Tuesday.
"However, the risks are not small and recession is possible. We are worried most about the potential unintended consequences of aggressive tariff moves," Harvey said.
— Sarah Min
English (US)