Asia stocks rise.
Most Asian stocks advanced on Thursday with technology shares tracking gains in Nvidia, which recently crossed a $4 trillion valuation, although concerns over U.S. trade tariffs remained in play.
Japanese markets lagged their peers for the day, with the Nikkei 225 falling 0.5% while the TOPIX shed 0.8% after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped the country with 25% tariffs earlier this week. Talks between Tokyo and Washington also appeared to have stalled, as Japan kept up its demands to be exempt from most U.S. tariffs.
Regional markets mostly took a positive lead-in from Wall Street, as NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) helped spur gains in broader tech stocks, pushing the NASDAQ Composite to a record high.
But Trump’s tariffs limited gains, especially after he slapped a 50% tariff on Brazil and also made good on his threat of a 50% levy on copper imports. S&P 500 Futures fell 0.2% in Asian trade, following Trump’s latest tariff volley.
Oil steady amid bearish Trump tariff outlook.
Oil prices were steady on Thursday as investors weighed the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on global economic growth, while a weaker dollar and signs of strong U.S. gasoline demand underpinned prices.
Brent crude futures were up 4 cents at $70.23 a barrel by 0600 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1 cent to $68.37 a barrel.
On the demand side, macro uncertainty has led to a more cautious buying environment, particularly in Asia, said analytics firm Kpler in a note, while noting that geopolitical risk premiums have faded with the Israel-Iran ceasefire holding.
On Wednesday, Trump threatened Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, with a punitive 50% tariff on exports to the U.S., after a public spat with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
He has also announced plans for tariffs on copper, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals and his administration sent tariff letters to the Philippines, Iraq and others, adding to over a dozen letters issued earlier in the week including for powerhouse U.S. suppliers South Korea and Japan.
Samsung’s bet on foldable phones.
Samsung Electronics on Wednesday unveiled thinner, lighter new foldable phones as it aims to fend off Chinese competition in the higher-margin, premium segment that remains untapped by arch rival Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The stakes are high. The South Korean company lost its global smartphone crown to Apple in 2023, and faces growing competition from Chinese rivals like Huawei and Honor.
Meanwhile, Samsung (KS:005930)’s mainstay chip business has suffered a profit slump stemming in part from its delayed supply of artificial intelligence chips to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Samsung’s mobile president and chief operating officer, Choi Won-joon, said his most important mission was to make Samsung a leader in AI-powered smartphones.
“I believe that foldable phones, integrated with AI features, are ready to become mainstream by offering unique, differentiated experience,” he told Reuters in his first media interview since being promoted in March.
He said Samsung aims to take a leadership position in AI by enhancing cooperation with external partners like Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), unlike Apple, which has been using in-house AI technology that has faced delays in adding key features.
Samsung also in New York unveiled its first smartwatches equipped with Google’s AI voice assistant, Gemini, which can make recommendations to the owner such as good locations for a run, as an example.
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