Japan Trade Deal Lifts Nikkei to One-Year High; Tech Stocks Lag Across Asia

Asian markets mostly advanced on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 surging 2.7% to its highest level since July 2024 after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a major trade agreement with Japan. The deal, seen as a breakthrough ahead of an August 1 tariff deadline, includes a 15% U.S. tariff on Japanese exports—lower than the initially proposed 25%—and opens Japanese markets to more U.S. agricultural and automotive products. Trump also stated that Japan would invest $550 billion in the U.S.

Japanese automakers led the rally, with Toyota and Honda jumping up to 10%. The trade agreement provided a much-needed boost to sentiment among Japanese exporters, even as the 15% tariff still presents moderate challenges. Investors largely shrugged off domestic political uncertainty following a recent electoral setback for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling party.

Despite Japan’s strong performance, broader gains in Asian equities were tempered by weakness in technology shares, especially chipmakers. This followed soft guidance from Texas Instruments and reports of challenges in the $500 billion AI venture between Japan’s SoftBank and OpenAI. South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.2%, underperforming regional peers, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index traded flat.

Meanwhile, Australia’s ASX 200 gained 0.6%, rebounding from recent losses, and both China’s Shanghai Composite and CSI 300 rose 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also added 0.6%. India’s Gift Nifty 50 Futures inched up 0.1%, reflecting cautious optimism as traders awaited progress on a potential U.S.-India trade deal.

Overall, optimism around the U.S.-Japan agreement fueled hopes of similar deals with other Asian economies, but tech sector weakness remains a drag on broader regional sentiment.