Asia-Pacific markets fall as traders await outcome of U.S.-China trade talks

Asia-Pacific markets fell as investors awaited the outcome of the ongoing U.S.-China trade talks.

Investors also await the result of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting due Wednesday stateside, where it will make a decision on whether to cut interest rates.

Asia markets start Tuesday trading in the red

Asia markets started the trading day lower.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.61%, while the Topix lost 0.76%.

South Korea's Kospi fell 1.09%, and the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.88%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.42%.

Good morning from Singapore. Asia markets are poised for a weaker open.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open lower, with the futures contract in Chicago at 40,920 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 40,820, against the index's last close of 40,998.27.

Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index stood at 25,367, pointing to a weaker open compared with the HSI's last close of 25,562.13.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was set to start the day lower with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,606, compared with its last close of 8,697.70.

S&P 500 closes little changed

The S&P 500 closed near the flatline on Monday, with the latest trade deal between the U.S. and EU failing to spark a fresh rally.

The broad market index inched up 0.02% to close at 6,389.77, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.33% to 21,178.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 64.36 points, or 0.14%, to finish the session at 44,837.56.

Trump announces global baseline tariff likely between 15% to 20%

On Monday, President Donald Trump announced that a global blanket tariff would likely fall between 15% to 20%. This would affect imports from countries that have not yet negotiated separate trade agreements with the United Statements.

“For the world, I would say it'll be somewhere in the 15 to 20% range ... I just want to be nice,” Trump said alongside United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “I would say in the range of 15 to 20%, probably one of those two numbers.”

Trump had previously announced that baseline tariffs would be just 10%. The president's tariffs are expected to go into place on Aug. 1.