Asian stocks climb amid trade hopes, Trump says won't fire Federal Reserve chief

Asian shares mostly rose Wednesday, with markets showing relief after President Donald Trump indicated he won't dismiss the head of the US Federal Reserve.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.7 per cent in morning trading to 34,797.22. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.6 per cent to 7,943.00. South Korea's Kospi gained 1.2 per cent to 2,515.19. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.7 per cent to 21,927.92, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, down less than 0.1 per cent at 3,298.33.

Trump had previously said he could fire Fed chair Jerome Powell after the Fed paused cuts to short-term . But Trump told reporters Tuesday, “I have no intention of firing him.”

Investors were also cheered by comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a Tuesday, 22 April speech. He said the ongoing tariffs showdown with China is unsustainable and he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war.

US stocks jumped in a widespread rally Tuesday, and other US investments steadied a day after falling sharply. The S&P 500 climbed 2.5 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,016 points, or 2.7 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite gained 2.7 per cent. All three indexes more than made up their big losses from the start of the week.

The only prediction many Wall Street strategists are willing to make is that financial markets will likely continue to veer up and down as hopes rise and fall that Trump may negotiate deals with other countries to lower his tariffs.

If no such deals come quickly enough, many investors expect the economy to fall into a recession.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday slashed its forecast for global economic growth this year to 2.8 per cent, down from 3.3 per cent. A suite of better-than-expected profit reports from big US companies, meanwhile, helped drive US stocks higher.

Also helping market sentiment was the announcement from Elon Musk that he will spend less time in Washington and more time running Tesla after his electric vehicle company reported a big drop in profits. Its results have been hurt by vandalism, widespread protests and calls for a consumer boycott amid a backlash to Musk's oversight of cost-cutting efforts for the US government.

Tesla reported earnings after US trading closed. Tesla's quarterly profits fell from USD 1.39 billion to USD 409 million, far below analyst estimates.

Losers on Wall Street were the exceptions, however, as 99 per cent of the stocks in the S&P 500 index rose. All told, the S&P 500 climbed 129.56 points to 5,287.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1,106.57 to 39,186.98, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 429.52 to 16,300.42.

In the bond market, longer-term yields eased following an unsettling run higher the day before. The yield on the 10-year Treasury pulled back to 4.39 per cent from 4.42 per cent late Monday.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude added USD 1.23 to USD 64.31 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard added 44 cents to USD 67.88 a barrel.

In currency trading, the US dollar declined to 141.85 Japanese Yen from 142.37 Yen. The Euro cost USD 1.1397, up from USD 1.1379.