Stocks edged up in Asia along with futures for European and US markets after President Donald Trump sought to reassure a business roundtable over the outlook for the economy and the steps he’s taking to boost growth.
A gauge of regional shares traded in a tight range while Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index hovered near a correction as Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum took effect with no exemptions.
Treasuries rose and the dollar strengthened against all its Group-of-10 peers ahead of a consumer inflation reading later Wednesday. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 gained after Trump said he doesn’t see a US recession, downplaying Wall Street’s jitters around his trade war.
Contracts for Europe jumped as much as 1% after Ukraine accepted a US proposal for a 30-day truce with Russia.
Trump’s tariff policy, geopolitical realignments over Ukraine, sticky inflation and the unknown pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts have hit the markets this year, leaving US stocks on the verge of a correction.
