Asian markets mostly up as Trump soothes Fed fears

Asian markets were mixed on Thursday after President Donald Trump said he had "no intention" of firing the US central bank head and made conciliatory comments on his trade war with China.

Trump's attacks on the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates had raised fears that he would fire its "Mr. Too Late" chief Jerome Powell, in a major blow to its independence.

Trump's rowback on Wednesday boosted Wall Street, as did his comments that US tariffs on China were "very high" and would "come down substantially".

The broad-based S&P 500 finished 1.7 percent higher on Wednesday. European stocks also rallied, with Frankfurt gaining more than three percent.

Trump could also exempt car parts from some tariffs on China alongside those on steel and aluminum in a "destacking", the Financial Times reported.

Tokyo rose more than one percent, while Sydney added 0.6 percent and Shanghai 0.3 percent.

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But Seoul fell after official data showed South Korea's economy unexpectedly contracted 0.1 percent in the first three months of 2025.

Hong Kong and Taipei were also slightly down.

"Both US equities and government bonds have staged a relief rally over the past 24 hours, as concerns about Fed independence and the trade war have eased," said Hubert de Barochez at Capital Economics.

"But the fact that the rally was sparked largely by conciliatory remarks from US President Trump -- whose rhetoric is notoriously volatile -- raises questions about its durability," de Barochez said.

On trade, Washington has imposed additional tariffs of 145 percent on a range of products from China, while Beijing has retaliated with levies of 125 percent on US goods.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters on Wednesday that Washington is "not yet" speaking with Beijing on tariffs, calling the high levies not "sustainable".

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Bessent also said that in its talks with Japan on tariffs, Washington had "absolutely no currency targets", after repeated comments from Trump that he wants a stronger yen.

Japan's envoy Ryosei Akazawa met Trump and other senior US officials last week, and local media reported Thursday that he will return for another round on May 1.

Nintendo shares gained as much as 5.5 percent after its president said there were "extremely high" pre-orders in Japan for its Switch 2 game console ahead of its global launch on June 5.

Key figures at 0300 GMT

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 34,868.63 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.23 percent 22,022.77

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.26 percent at 3,304.97

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1351 from $1.1317 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3281 from $1.3257

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 142.78 from 143.49 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 85.47 from 85.34 pence

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West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.05 percent at $62.24 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UNCHANGED at $66.12 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 39,606.57 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 8,403.18 (close)

Source: AFP