BANGKOK — Asian shares and US futures were mostly higher Wednesday after a retreat on Wall Street wiped out all of the S&P 500’s post-U.S. election gains.
China announced it intends to keep its economy growing at around a 5% annual pace in 2025, in line with last year’s target, as it opened the annual session of its largely ceremonial legislature. Premier Li Qiang also promised more government spending and other measures to support growth.
U.S. stocks tumbled after higher tariffs on imports from China, Canada and Mexico took effect on Tuesday, and investors were watching to see what President Donald Trump says during his speech to Congress and the nation. Early Wednesday, the future for the S&P 500 gained 0.7% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index edged less than 0.1% higher to 37,356.44, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong surged 1.2% to 23,207.16.
The Shanghai Composite index was nearly unchanged at 3,324.16.
In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.7% to 2,546.03, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.2% to 8,100.60.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks racked up more losses on Wall Street as the trade war between the U.S. and its key trading partners escalated.
The Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday and doubled tariffs against imports from China by 20%. All three countries announced retaliatory actions, sparking worries about a slowdown in the global economy.
The S&P 500 fell 1.2% to 5,778.15, with more than 80% of the stocks in the benchmark index closing lower. The Dow slid 1.6% to 42,520.99.
The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.4% to 18,285.16. The tech-heavy index briefly reached a 10% decline from its most recent closing high, which is what the market considers a correction, but gains for Nvidia, Microsoft and other tech heavyweights helped pare those losses.
Financial stocks were among the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 index. JPMorgan Chase fell 4% and Bank of America lost 6.3%.
The market could soon face more twists in the tariff drama. After Tuesday’s closing bell, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business News that the U.S. would likely meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle” on tariffs, with an announcement coming as soon as Wednesday.
The market rally after Trump’s election in November had been built largely on hopes for policies that would strengthen the U.S. economy and businesses. Worries about tariffs raising consumer prices and reigniting inflation have been weighing on both the economy and Wall Street.
The tariffs are prompting warnings from retailers, including Target and Best Buy, as they report their latest financial results. Target fell 3% despite beating Wall Street’s earnings forecasts, saying there will be “meaningful pressure” on its profits to start the year because of tariffs and other costs.
Best Buy plunged 13.3% for the biggest drop among S&P 500 stocks after giving investors a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast and warning about tariff impacts.
Concerns about profits follow a series of economic reports with worrisome signals that include U.S. households becoming more pessimistic about inflation and pulling back on spending. Consumer spending has essentially driven U.S. economic growth in the face of high interest rates.
Retaliations against the higher tariffs were swift.
China responded to new U.S. tariffs by announcing it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies. Canada plans on slapping tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. Mexico also plans tariffs on goods imported from the U.S.
In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 70 cents to $67.56 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, fell 37 cents to $70.67 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 149.99 Japanese yen from 149.82 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0607 from $1.0626.
Bitcoin was trading at about $97,850 according to CoinDesk.
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AP Business Writers Damian Troise and Alex Veiga contributed.
