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As on : 20-May-2025

Market Commentary - Foreign Markets
20-May-2025 16:42

Asian shares mostly end higher after China, Australia rate cut

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Tuesday after China and Australia cut interest rates as expected.

Investors stayed focused on the outcome of U.S. trade negotiations with India and Japan, following a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs between the U.S. and China.

Meanwhile, after the United States warned companies against using Huawei's Ascend chips, China accused the Trump administration of undermining recent trade truce talks in Geneva. China demanded the U.S. to correct its mistakes.

The U.S. dollar pulled back on concerns about rising debt and tariff uncertainty and gold traded weak around $3,220 per ounce levels, while oil prices were mixed in Asian trade.

China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.38 percent to 3,380.48 after the People's Bank of China cut benchmark lending rates for the first time since October.

The People's Bank of China slashed its one-year loan prime rate (LPR), a key reference for household and business lending, to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent, while the five-year LPR, typically used for mortgages, was lowered by 10 basis points to 3.5 percent.

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