Asian indexes rise on optimism over U.S.-China trade, Japan's Nikkei touches record high

[A world globe marked with push pins]
Richard Drury

Asian markets mostly traded higher on Monday, after top U.S. and Chinese negotiators said that they reached a consensus on key disputes, paving the way for Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to meet later this week and finalize a trade deal aimed at easing tensions.

Gold prices fell 1% to around $4,070 per ounce on Monday, extending Friday’s decline

Japan (NKY:IND [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NKY:IND]) jumped 2.1% to above 50,000, hitting new all-time highs amid optimism over the Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea on Thursday.

China (SHCOMP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SHCOMP]) gained 1.10%, with the index hitting fresh ten-year highs amid hopes for a trade breakthrough in the Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea this week.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) injected a total of CNY 900 billion into financial institutions on October 27 through its one-year Medium-Term Lending Facility, aiming to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system.

Foreign direct investment in China fell 10.4% Y/Y to CNY 573.75 billion in the first nine months of 2025, amid global economic uncertainty.

The offshore yuan strengthened to around 7.11 per dollar on Monday, hitting its highest level in four weeks, as optimism over progress in US-China trade negotiations boosted sentiment.

Profits at China’s industrial firms rose 3.2% yoy to CNY 5.37 trillion in the first nine months of 2025, accelerating from 0.9% growth in the prior period.

India (SENSEX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SENSEX]) rose 0.72%.

Taiwan’s consumer confidence index slipped to 63.96 in October 2025.

The U.S. and Vietnam will finalize a trade agreement in the coming weeks that keeps 20% tariffs on most Vietnamese goods but lifts duties on selected products to be determined later, the White House said Sunday.

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI Index jumped 2% to above 4,020 on Monday, breaching the 4,000 mark for the first time on record as optimism over progress in U.S. China trade talks.

Australia (AS51 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AS51]) rose 0.39%, supported by overall optimism. The Australian dollar rose to around $0.653 on Monday, buoyed by optimism.

In the U.S. on Friday, indexes soared and ended at a record high after market participants, starved of economic data during the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, received a reprieve in the form of a cooler-than-expected consumer inflation report.

U.S. stock futures gained on Monday: Dow +0.63%; Nasdaq +1.07%; S&P +0.83%.

CURRENCIES: (JPY:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JPY:USD]), (CNY:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CNY:USD]), (AUD:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AUD:USD]), (INR:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/INR:USD]), (HKD:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HKD:USD]), (NZD:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NZD:USD]).

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