Jul 23 ,2025
Synopsis:
Asian equities higher Wednesday. Japan rallied with autos outperforming on trade deal with US of reduced tariffs. Hang Seng extended gains to highest since late 2021. Mainland benchmarks pulled back after hitting YTD intraday highs. Taiwan, Australia and Korea all ended higher. Southeast Asia also gained after several countries struck deals with Washington. India is trading higher. US futures rose as attention shifted to tech earnings. Dollar weaker against Aussie, kiwi and won. Yen fluctuated amid US-Japan trade deal, Ishiba resignation rumour and later his denial. Treasury yields higher across tenors. JGB yields sharply higher with 10Y hitting highest since 2008 and softer-than-expected 40Y auction. Crude edging slightly lower while gold fell. Bitcoin pulling back.
Very busy day for macro developments in Japan. President Trump announced agreement with Japan that will result in reduced tariff of 15% from 25% previously, which boosted Japan auto stocks. Trump said Japan will invest $550B in US at his direction, without details of who would invest and over what time horizon. Added Tokyo would open its markets to US cars and rice. Two sides also close to agreement on JV to export LNG from Alaska. Came after LDP/Komeito coalition suffered setback in Sunday's upper house election which puts PM Ishiba's future in question. Local media noted Ishiba would resign by August amid growing calls, but he later denied those reports, said there had been no discussion about his resignation or future plans in his meeting with three former PMs. Japan 40Y bond auction saw weak demand with bid-cover ratio lowest since 2011. Speaking earlier, BOJ Deputy Governor Uchida reaffirmed core policy guidance that rate hikes will continue as long as baseline outlook scenario is realized.
US trade talks with China are also moving in positive direction with Treasury Secretary Bessent signalling extension to 12-Aug deadline and revealing US and China will start third round of negotiations in Stockholm next week. President Trump said he would probably meet President Xi in "not too distant future". Separately, US reached agreement with Phillipines at a 19% rate, same level as Indonesia agreed and one ppt below Vietnam. South Korea is now scrutinizing terms of US-Japan deal. Singapore's headline and core inflation in June both came slightly below expected.
Japanese automakers surged on US-Japan trade deal that lowers tariffs with Mazda (7261.JP), Subaru (7270.JP), Toyota (7203.JP), Mitsubishi Motors (7211.JP) and Honda (7267.JP) among biggest gainers. Alibaba (9988.HK) has officially launched Qwen3-Coder, an open-source AI model for software development that it described as its most capable coding model to date.
Digest:
Trump's trade deal with Japan involves reduced tariff rate, increased market access:
President Trump announced trade deal with Japan, which will result in tariff rate of 15% compared to 25% in tariff letter (Bloomberg, Reuters, Nikkei). US and Japan government officials confirmed lowered 15% tariff will also apply to autos. Trump said Japan agreed to open agriculture and auto market to US firms. Bloomberg cited senior Trump official who said Japan agreed to boost rice imports by 75% and purchase $8B of agricultural and other products. Japan's top trade negotiator Akazawa clarified Japan did not reduce tariffs on agricultural products or 770Kt tariff-free quota, but rice ratio in quota would increase. Japan to boost annual defense spending with US companies to $17B from $14B, purchase 100 Boeing (BA) aircraft and accept American autos built to US safety standards. Trump added Japan to invest $550B in US and he will direct funding with US receiving 90% of profits. This was up on ~$400B under discussion that would have resulted in 50/50 profit share. Japan will also see some relief from coming sectoral tariffs, effectively ensuring it will receive lowest global rate applied. Additionally, Trump told lawmakers Japan and US close to agreement on JV to export LNG from Alaska (Bloomberg).
US strikes deals with Indonesia and Philippines, China trade talks tracking positively:
President Trump announced agreement with Indonesia whereby country will face 19% tariff (vs 32% in tariff letter) and undertake purchases of Boeing (BA) aircraft, US agricultural and energy products (Reuters). Joint statement provided further details, including agreement to reduce Indonesia's non-tariff barriers. Trade deal with Philippines will similarly result in 19% tariff (vs 20% in tariff letter) and include unspecified military cooperation (Bloomberg). Philippines President Marcos added country will boost imports of US soy, wheat and pharma products. Trump's deal with Japan puts focus on South Korea with analysts hoping for similar relief (Reuters, Yonhap). Korean officials on route to US, touting cooperation on energy, shipbuilding, semiconductors and batteries but maintaining red lines on rice and beef market access. Talks with China moving in positive direction with Treasury Secretary Bessent signaling extension to 12-Aug deadline (Fox News). Will meet Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next Monday and Tuesday to further discussions on array of topics. Among agenda items, Bessent will urge China to address manufacturing overproduction and repeated he will raise issue of Chinese purchases of sanctioned Iran and Russian crude. Trump also confirmed he plans to meet China President Xi in Beijing soon.
Japan PM Ishiba denies reports he will resign:
Notable political headlines continued late into Wednesday's session. Nikkei reported Prime Minister Ishiba held a key meeting with former premiers Aso, Suga and Kishida. Speaking to reporters afterward, Ishiba acknowledged they shared a strong sense of urgency in the wake of the upper house election defeat, while clarifying there was no talk of his future in office. Ishiba also denied earlier reports he will announce his resignation, insisting the topic did not come up. Added that he will now turn all his efforts to implementing the US trade deal and protecting national interests. Said there were various discussions including preventing a party rupture, adding that Secretary-General Moriyama will disclose further details of the meeting. Article noted Ishiba remains in a precarious situation; after having lost majority in the upper house election, he is facing growing calls for his resignation from within the LDP after having declared he wants to stay in office. Yet, Ishiba's political capital in the party has weakened after distancing himself from the major factions. Today's meeting with party big wigs thought to be a strategy to reaffirm internal support. Kyodo echoed earlier reports that Ishiba is likely to make a decision to step down in August, citing LDP executives' views that a resignation is inevitable.
Japan PM Ishiba may resign sooner rather than later after US trade deal:
Flurry of articles surrounding Prime Minister Ishiba's potential resignation emerged after the US-Japan trade deal was announced. Yomiuri reported Ishiba leaning towards a decision as early as this month. With a trade agreement now reached, Ishiba compelled to take responsibility for the upper house election defeat amid growing calls for his ouster. According to the story, Ishiba will consult with former premiers Aso, Suga and Kishida at LDP headquarters today. If Ishiba decides to step down, this would open up the process for a party presidential election. After a debriefing by lead tariff negotiator Akazawa on his return from Washington 24-Jul, Ishiba will decide when to make an announcement and set a final date after gauging prospects for a summit with US President Trump and other items on the political calendar. Earlier reports indicated a resignation looked more likely in August considering events such as a meeting of LDP Diet members and a pending post-mortem election review. But tariff negotiations were the only substantive reason to remain in office, while party members particularly in regional chapters have already started to petition for his resignation. Nikkei highlighted the extreme rarity of a sitting prime minister to confer with a group of former premiers, though implications were unclear.
JGB 40-year auction softer than expected after US-Japan trade deal:
Nikkei discussed the 40y JGB auction (JPY400B, reopen #18, 3.1% coupon) which resulted in a highest accepted yield of a record 3.375%, above QUICK consensus 3.35% for a softer than expected outcome. Bid-to-cover fell to 2.13, the lowest since Aug-11. Soft demand was largely attributed to the US-Japan trade deal announcement, boosting equities against bonds as a function of better risk appetite. Additionally, reports of Prime Minister Ishiba's likelihood of resignation exacerbated concerns about fiscal expansion. Ishiba has been hawkish on fiscal policy, repeatedly rejecting calls for a consumption tax hike. Other press discussions noted thoughts that Ishiba's successor will look dovish in comparison, partly as the ruling coalition will have to yield concessions to opposition parties in order to pass legislation. Furthermore, depressed bid-to-cover (third lowest on record) highlights underlying weak supply-demand conditions despite the auction size reduced by JPY100B after MOF's issuance tweaks. Nikkei discussed the increasing share of trading activity in superlong JGBs among foreign investors in the absence of traditionally leading participation from life insurers. Foreigners bought a net ¥1.5T ($10.2B) in ultralong JGBs in June, according to JSDA data, the third-highest monthly tally in QUICK data going back to 2004, behind only April and March of this year.
Notable Gainers:
+17.8% 7261.JP (Mazda Motor): Trump announces trade deal with Japan; US tariff rate on Japan autos reportedly also at 15%
+14.3% 7203.JP (Toyota Motor): Trump announces trade deal with Japan; US tariff rate on Japan autos reportedly also at 15%
+8.6% 2268.HK (WuXi XDC Cayman): guides H1 adjusted net profit before interest income and expense of over +67% y/y
+8.5% 000270.KS (Kia Corp.): South Korean auto sector reportedly reacting positively to Trump's announcement of a trade deal with Japan, driven by hopes for a favorable Korea-US agreement
+2.8% 8218.JP (KOMERI CO.): reports Q1 earnings
Notable Decliners:
-1.9% 3038.JP (Kobe Bussan): announces June performance; same-store-sales growth moderates
Data:
Economic:
Singapore
June CPI +0.8% y/y versus consensus +0.9% and +0.8% in prior month
Core CPI +0.6% y/y vs consensus +0.7% and +0.6% in prior month
Markets:
Nikkei: 1,396.40 or +3.51% to 41171.32
Hang Seng: 408.04 or +1.62% to 25538.07
Shanghai Composite: 0.44 or +0.01% to 3582.30
Shenzhen Composite: (11.74) or (0.54%) to 2177.21
ASX200: 60.00 or +0.69% to 8737.20
KOSPI: 13.83 or +0.44% to 3183.77
Currencies:
$-¥: +0.03 or +0.02% to 146.6730
$-KRW: (5.51) or (0.40%) to 1375.2600
A$-$: +0.00 or +0.37% to 0.6580
$-INR: +0.07 or +0.08% to 86.4413
$-CNY: (0.01) or (0.20%) to 7.1604
This information and data is provided for general informational purposes only. The Bank of New York Mellon and our information suppliers do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of this information or data. We provide no advice nor recommendation or endorsement with respect to any company or securities. We do not undertake any obligation to update or amend this information or data. Nothing herein shall be deemed to constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities.
Please refer to "Terms Of Use".
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS:
NOT FDIC, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY INSURED
MAY LOSE VALUE
NO BANK, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY GUARANTEE