Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise as investors assess Japan's trade data and Trump's plans for Powell

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Thursday as investors assessed the fall in Japan's exports for the second consecutive month, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump's denial of his intent to fire Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chairman.

The U.S. President on Wednesday denied the possibility of such a move, hours after he told a room full of Republican lawmakers that he would fire Powell.

“We're not planning on doing it,” he said at a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House. “I don't rule out anything,” he added, “but I think it's highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud.”

Trump also reiterated at the same meeting that a 25% tariff would apply to Japanese imports, saying he does not expect to reach a broader deal with the country.

Here are today's highlights and a live snapshot of how markets are faring:

• Shares in Japan's Seven & i plunge 7% after Couche-Tard withdraws $47 billion takeover bid
• Singapore stocks extended their rally{Singapore stocks extend rally to hit fresh all-time highs

  Singapore's 30-stock benchmark Straits Times Index extended its winning run for a ninth consecutive day, hitting a fresh all-time high of 4,154.13 earlier in the session.

  The index was up 0.39% at 4,148.28 as of 10 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET Wednesday), with gains led by the technology, consumer non-cyclicals and financials sectors.

  The best performing stocks were DFI Retail Group Holdings which rose 4%, Singapore Telecommunications which advanced 2.47% and Hongkong Land Holdings which added 1.75%.

  =null} for the ninth day to a fresh high

• Japan's exports fell for the second consecutive month
• Australia's unemployment rate soared to a 43-month high
• Singapore's non-oil domestic exports beat forecasts in June and jumped to an 11-month high

Indian stocks flat in early trade

Indian stocks were little changed in early trade Thursday, with both the 50-stock benchmark Nifty 50 Sensex index trading flat as of 10 a.m. Indian Standard time (12.30 a.m. ET).

SK Hynix shares plunge over 8% on profit-taking concerns

Shares of SK Hynix plunged as much as 8.78% Thursday on concerns of its profit-taking against the backdrop of a weakening outlook for memory semiconductor prices.

Goldman Sachs reportedly downgraded the stock to a neutral rating, noting that SK Hynix's “operating profit for 2026 is expected to decrease compared to this year.”

“Considering the performance risks, it is shifting to a conservative stance as the stock price has already risen significantly,” the bank's analysts added in a Thursday note.

Australia unemployment rate rises to 43-month high

Australia's unemployment rate rose to 4.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in June, surpassing the 4.1% increase anticipated by economists polled by Reuters.

The reading was also the highest since November 2021, according to LSEG data.

Meanwhile, net employment rose by 2,000 in June, from a revised decline of 1,100 the month before, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed.

That latest reading still missed market forecasts of a 20,000 increase, according to Reuters poll data.

Singapore stocks extend rally to hit fresh all-time highs

Singapore's 30-stock benchmark Straits Times Index extended its winning run for a ninth consecutive day, hitting a fresh all-time high of 4,154.13 earlier in the session.

The index was up 0.39% at 4,148.28 as of 10 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET Wednesday), with gains led by the technology, consumer non-cyclicals and financials sectors.

The best performing stocks were DFI Retail Group Holdings which rose 4%, Singapore Telecommunications which advanced 2.47% and Hongkong Land Holdings which added 1.75%.

Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rise in early trade

Chinese and Hong Kong-listed stocks started the day higher Thursday amid choppy trading in other key Asia-Pacific markets.

As of 9.40 a.m. local time (9.40 p.m. ET Wednesday), the Hang Seng Index added 0.26%, while mainland'sCSI 300 moved up 0.16%.

Shares in Seven & i plunge over 9% in early trade

Shares in Japan's Seven & i Holdings plunged 9.14% as at 10.30 a.m. local time (9.30 p.m. ET Wednesday) shortly after it resumed trading around 14 minutes prior.

The Japan Exchange Group imposed a trading halt on the 7-Eleven owner earlier in the day, to confirm the authenticity of media reports on the withdrawal of an acquisition proposal.

Seven & i subsequently confirmed the news in a statement and said, “while we are disappointed by ACT's decision, and disagree with their numerous mischaracterizations, we are not surprised.”

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports surprise with jump to 11-month high in June

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports surged 13% in June compared to the same period last year, surpassing the 5% growth forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

The latest reading also surpassed the revised 3.9% decline in the previous month, government data showed Thursday.

This is the sharpest increase since July 2024, according to LSEG data. It comes on the back of higher shipments of electronic products, non-monetary gold and specialized machinery.

On a month-on-month basis, Singapore's NODX surged 14.3% in June, compared to a 12% decline seen in May.

Asia-Pacific markets start the day mixed

Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Wednesday.

As of 8.11 a.m. Singapore time (8.11 p.m. ET), Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark fell 0.6% while the broader Topix index ticked down 0.11%.

In South Korea, the Kospi index dropped 0.26% while the small-cap Kosdaq was flat.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark added 0.35%.

Japans exports fall for second straight month with no U.S. trade deal in sight, raising recession fears

Japan's exports in June contracted 0.5% year over year, extending the 1.7% drop seen in May as deliveries continued to decline for the second straight month.

The decrease in exports was a reversal of the 0.5% rise expected by economists polled by Reuters, and comes amid a lack of a breakthrough in trade talks with the U.S.

Exports to China, Japan's largest trading partner, were down 4.7%, while exports to the U.S. declined by 11.4% year over year, deepening from the 11% fall in May.

Read the full story, here.

Trading in Japans Seven & i halted after Couche-Tard withdraws $47 billion bid to acquire the retailer

The Japan Exchange Group imposed a trading halt on Seven & i Holdings for the 7-Eleven owner to confirm the authenticity of media reports on the withdrawal of an acquisition proposal.

Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard announced Wednesday stateside that it was withdrawing its $47 billion takeover offer for the company, saying there was a “persistent lack of good faith engagement.”

“There has been no sincere or constructive engagement from 7&i that would facilitate the advancement of any proposal, contrary to comments made publicly by 7&i representatives,” Couche-Tard wrote in a statement.

Here are the opening calls for the day

Good morning from Singapore.

Investors will be keeping a close watch on a slew of data points from the Asia-Pacific region today, including Japan's trade figures, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports numbers as well as Australia's employment print for the month of June.

Economists polled by Reuters expect Japan's trade balance to come in at 353.9 billion yen ($2.39 billion) surplus, better than the revised 638.6 billion yen deficit it recorded in May.

Meanwhile, separate polls by Reuters show that Singapore's non-oil were forecast to grow 5% year on year in June, from a contraction of 3.5% in May.

Australia's unemployment rate was expected to hold steady at 4.1% in June.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open lower, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,545 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 39,540, against the index's Wednesday close of 39,663.40.

Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 24,576, pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI's last close of 24,517.76.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was also set to start the day higher with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,588, compared with its last close of 8,561.80.

U.S. futures slip following rally on Trumps denial that he plans to fire Powell

U.S. equity futures fell in early Asia hours after U.S. President Donald Trump denied his plans to fire Jerome Powell from his position as Federal Reserve chairman.

S&P 500 futures lost 0.17%, while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.18%. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 80 points, or 0.18%.

Stocks end Wednesday in the green

Wednesday saw a volatile trading session that ended with a major rebound in U.S. equities.

The S&P 500 added 0.32% to close at 6,263.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 231.49 points, or 0.53%, ending at 44,254.78. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.26% to settle the session at 20,730.49, notching its ninth record close.