Mixed Trading On Asian Markets As Wall St Rebounds

Hong Kong: Asian stocks are mixed after Wall Street snapped out of a spell of holiday season blues, with markets in Tokyo and China declining.Japan’s finance minister rang in the New Year as Tokyo’s market resumed trading after the long traditional holiday, as traders in suits and kimonos clapped for good fortune in 2025. “The Japanese government will act to secure economic growth led by wage increases and investment,” the finance minister, Katsunobu Kato said, vowing to “grasp signs of recovery” and to ensure that “every single citizen can feel the improvement in their salaries.”

The prevailing sentiment in much of Asia has been caution over potential changes by President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to sharply raise tariffs on imports from China and other countries, potentially denting growth for a region heavily reliant on trade. Nippon Steel was expected to sue after US President Joe Biden on Friday rejected its nearly $15 billion bid to acquire Pittsburgh-based US Steel Corp. Nippon Steel’s shares fell 0.8 per cent in Tokyo on Monday. US Steel’s shares sank 6.5 per cent on Friday.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.5 per cent to 39,309.13, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 0.3 per cent to 19,706.66. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2 per cent lower, to 3,206.75. Markets shrugged off a report that China’s services economy grew at its fastest pace in seven months in December, while export businesses declined, according to a private sector survey.