Trade concerns ease, Asian stocks rebound impressively

Asian stocks rose across the board on the afternoon of October 20, as conciliatory comments from US President Donald Trump over the weekend eased concerns about Sino-US trade tensions.

Stock index board in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Yonhap/TTXVN

Meanwhile, Japanese stocks soared to a record high following news of a deal to end political turmoil in the country.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index led the region's gains, jumping 3.4% to 49,185.50 and setting a new high, after Japan's ruling party said it would sign a new coalition agreement on the same day, paving the way for Sanae Takaichi to become the country's first female prime minister .

China's major indexes also rose. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed up 2.5% at 25,879.50 points. The Shanghai Composite Index also rose 0.6% to 3,863.89 points. The gains came after data showed China's economy grew as expected in the third quarter of 2025, albeit at its slowest pace in a year.

Markets in Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei (China), Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila also increased strongly.

Investor sentiment was hit last week by a sudden flare-up in US-China trade tensions, with US President Donald Trump threatening to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports in response to the country’s rare earth export controls.

However, tensions appeared to have cooled over the weekend, with the two sides agreeing to hold further trade talks.

Chris Weston, an analyst at financial services firm Pepperstone, said the market appears to be betting on a positive or at least less bad outcome to the trade tensions. The market’s current base case appears to be that China will make concessions on rare earth export controls, paving the way for the US to extend the current 30% tariff truce for another 90 days. The current deal expires after November 10.

In the domestic market, at the end of the trading session on October 20, the VN-Index decreased by 94.76 points (5.47%) to 1,636.43 points. The HNX-Index decreased by 13.09 points (4.74%) to 263.02 points.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thi-truong-tien-te/lo-ngai-thuong-mai-dieu-bot-chung-khoan-chau-a-phuc-hoi-an-tuong-20251020160616555.htm