Asian Markets Edge Higher as Trump’s Tariff Clock Ticks Down

Asian stocks nudged upward Monday, with investors eyeing the ticking clock on President Donald Trump’s deadline to slap higher tariffs on Chinese goods. The 90-day tariff truce struck in May runs out Tuesday, and no one’s sure if Trump will extend it—or let the trade war heat back up.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng added 0.1% to 24,891.65, while Shanghai’s Composite index climbed 0.4% to 3,647.80. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.5%, boosted by a 0.4% gain for chipmaking giant TSMC, often seen as a stand-in for big US names like Nvidia and AMD. Those two US chip titans are rumored to have agreed to a 15% revenue-sharing deal with Washington to keep selling AI chips to China.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ticked up 0.3%, and South Korea’s Kospi barely budged. Japan and Thailand were closed for holidays.

Over in the US, Wall Street ended Friday in rally mode: the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 6,389.45, the Dow gained 0.5%, and the Nasdaq popped 1%. Tech stocks led the charge—Nvidia rose 1.1%, Apple surged 4.2%—while Gilead Sciences jumped 8.3% after smashing earnings expectations and raising its full-year outlook.

Investors are also bracing for fresh US inflation data this week, with Tuesday’s consumer price numbers likely to shape bets on whether the Fed will cut rates in September. Odds of a quarter-point trim are high as the economy shows signs of cooling, but any hint of reheating inflation could complicate that.

Meanwhile, oil prices kept slipping, partly on hopes Trump’s upcoming Alaska sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin could yield movement toward ending the Ukraine conflict. Brent crude dropped 51 cents to $66.08 a barrel, US benchmark crude fell 57 cents to $63.31, and the dollar weakened slightly to 147.56 yen.

For now, markets are holding their breath—waiting to see if Trump extends the tariff cease-fire or sends trade tensions back into overdrive.

The Associated Press, Reuters, and ABC News contributed to this report.