Asia shares jump after US stocks soared to historic gains

Asian shares surged in Thursday trading with Japans benchmark jumping more than 2000 points almost immediately after the Tokyo exchange opened as investors welcomed President Donald Trumps decision to back off on most of his tariffs Analysts had expected the regional comeback given that US stocks had one of their best days in history Wednesday on a euphoric Wall Street where investor hopes had run high that Trump would tone down the tariffsOn Thursday Japans benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 8237 in morning trading to 3430205 zooming upward as soon as trading began Australias SampPASX 200 soared 4737 to 772140 South Koreas Kospi gained 4937 to 772140 Hong Kongs Hang Seng added 2837 to 2082148 The Shanghai Composite edged up 0637 to 320735Stephen Innes managing partner at SPI Asset Management called the reaction from fear to euphoria Its now a manageable risk especially as global recession tail bets get unwound and most of Asias exporters breathe a massive sigh of relief he said referring to the tariffs on China which Trump has keptOn Wall Street the SampP 500 surged 9537 an amount that would count as a good year for the market It had been sinking earlier in the day on worries that Trumps trade war could drag the global economy into a recession But then came the posting on social media that investors worldwide had been waiting and wishing forI have authorised a 90 day PAUSE Trump said after recognising the more than 75 countries that he said have been negotiating on trade and had not retaliated against his latest increases in tariffsTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent later told reporters that Trump was pausing his socalled reciprocal tariffs on most of the countrys biggest trading partners but maintaining his 1037 tariff on nearly all global importsChina was a huge exception though with Trump saying tariffs are going up to 12537 against its products That raises the possibility of more swings ahead that could stun financial markets The trade war is not over and an escalating battle between the worlds two largest economies can create plenty of damage US stocks are also still below where they were just a week ago when Trump announced worldwide tariffs on what he called Liberation DayBut on Wednesday at least the focus on Wall Street was on the positive The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot to a gain of 2962 points or 7937 The Nasdaq composite leaped 12237 The SampP 500 had its thirdbest day since 1940The relief came after doubts had crept in about whether Trump cared about the financial pain the US stock market was taking because of his tariffs The SampP 500 the index that sits at the centre of many 401k accounts came into the day nearly 1937 below its record set less than two months agoThat surprised many professional investors who had long thought that a president who used to crow about records for the Dow under his watch would pull back on policies if they sent markets reelingWednesdays rally pulled the SampP 500 index away from the edge of whats called a bear market Thats what professionals call it when a runofthemill drop of 1037 for US stocks which happens every year or so graduates into a more vicious fall of 2037 The index is now down 11237 from its recordWall Street also got a boost from a relatively smooth auction of US Treasurys in the bond market Wednesday Earlier jumps in Treasury yields had rattled the market indicating increasing levels of stress Trump himself said Wednesday that he had been watching the bond market getting a little queasyAnalysts say several reasons could be behind the rise in yields including hedge funds and other investors having to sell their Treasury bonds to raise cash in order to make up for losses in the stock market Investors outside the United States may also be selling their US Treasurys because of the trade war Such actions would push down prices for Treasurys which in turn would push up their yieldsRegardless of the reasons behind it higher yields on Treasurys add pressure on the stock market and push upward on rates for mortgages and other loans for US households and businessesThe moves are particularly notable because US Treasury yields have historically dropped not risen during scary times for the market because the bonds are usually seen as some of the safest possible investments This weeks sharp rise had brought the yield on the 10year Treasury back to where it was in late FebruaryAfter approaching 45037 in the morning the 10year yield pulled back to 43437 following Trumps pause and the Treasurys auction Thats still up from 42637 late Tuesday and from just 40137 at the end of last weekIn energy trading benchmark US crude fell 56 cents to 6179 a barrel Brent crude the international standard declined 74 cents to 6474 a barrel In currency trading the US dollar fell to 14683 Japanese yen from 14738 yen The euro cost 10980 up from 10954This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability 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