TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly rose Wednesday, as markets continued to watch President Donald Trump’s latest tariff escalation.
France's CAC 40 rose 0.4% in early trading to 8,057.08, while Germany's DAX added 0.3% to 22,108.72. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up nearly 0.1% to 8,782.96. U.S. shares were set to drift lower, with Dow futures down 0.2% at 8,782.96. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% to 6,080.00.
Investors remained uncertain about what the impact of Trump's policies might be. His latest announcement included 25% tariffs on all foreign steel and aluminum coming into the U.S.
South Korea and to a lesser extent Japan export steel to the U.S., but the impact on their economies might not be that big since both nations export more in other goods to the U.S.
Last month, Trump decided to impose 10% duties on all Chinese imports.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to finish at 38,963.70. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 8,535.30. South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.4% to 2,548.39.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.6% to 21,857.92, as excitement over DeepSeek continued, although market watchers are wondering when the rally might peak. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.9% to 3,346.39.
Most of Wall Street agrees that substantial and sustained tariffs would push up prices for U.S. households and ultimately lead to big pain for financial markets around the world.
But Trump has also shown he can be quick to pull back on such threats. That’s what he did earlier with 25% tariffs he had announced for all imports from Canada and Mexico, suggesting tariffs may be merely a negotiating chip rather than a true long-term policy. That in turn has much of Wall Street hoping the worst-case scenario may not happen.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 82 cents to $72.50 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 71 cents to $76.29 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 153.50 Japanese yen from 152.43 yen. The euro cost $1.0372, up from $1.0363.
___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.