Asian stocks still closely follow US-China trade truce

Photo caption — Stock index board in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: THX/TTXVN

However, the US dollar maintained its strong momentum, reaching a three-month high as expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in December are waning.

Investors are still focused on developments from last week, including major central bank meetings and the expected one-year trade truce between the US and China, though doubts remain about whether the deal will last in its entirety.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (excluding Japan) ended the session up 0.63% to 729.82 points, hovering around a 4.5-year high reached last week. Since the beginning of the year, the index has increased more than 27%, heading for its strongest year since 2017.

Wall Street's Nasdaq index rose 0.25% in pre-market trading, while European stock indexes also pointed to a positive open ahead of the release of regional manufacturing data.

New data showed major Asian manufacturing hubs continued to struggle in October 2025 as weak demand from the US and President Donald Trump’s tariffs caused orders to fall. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

In South Korea, the KOSPI index surged 2.78% (equivalent to 114.37 points) to 4,221.87 points - surpassing the 4,200 point mark for the first time in history, just one session after surpassing 4,100 points on October 31. The increase was led by large-cap chip and defense stocks, despite the won weakening against the USD.

BofA strategists recommend investors “take partial profits on rallies, accumulate during corrections, and move into safer stocks as we enter the year-end,” saying that the euphoria from the US-China deal has already been reflected in stock prices.

In China, the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.55% to 3,976.52 points, the Shenzhen Component index rose 0.19% to 13,404.06 points, while the Hang Seng index of Hong Kong (China) rose 1% to 26,156.81 points.

Singapore, Sydney, Wellington, Bangkok and Taipei markets all rose; in contrast, Mumbai and Manila markets were in the red.

Some regional Fed leaders expressed concerns over the rate cut late last week, while Fed Governor Christopher Waller advocated further easing of monetary policy to support the weak labor market.

After the October 2025 policy meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized that a further rate cut in December was “not a given,” even though investors were almost certain that the Fed would continue to cut interest rates once more.

Traders now see a 68% chance of a rate cut in December, down from nearly 100% before the meeting, according to CME's FedWatch tool. The dollar held firm. The euro fell to $1.1524, a three-month low; the pound lost 0.2% to $1.3142; and the Japanese yen traded at 154.05 yen, near its lowest level since mid-February 2025.

With the US government shutdown continuing this week, employment reports and hiring figures will be postponed. Instead, investors will focus on the private sector employment report (ADP) released later in the week.

In the domestic market, at the end of the session on November 3, the VN-Index decreased by 22.65 points, or 1.38%, to 1,617 points. The HNX-Index decreased by 6.67 points, or 2.51%, to 259.18 points.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thi-truong-tien-te/chung-khoan-chau-a-van-theo-sat-thoa-thuan-dinh-chien-thuong-mai-my-trung-20251103161305664.htm