Asia report: Stocks mixed ahead of busy week, Toyota Industries jumps
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Monday 28 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - Asian stock markets finished Monday's session in a mixed but subdued fashion, compared with the more volatile moves seen in recent weeks, as investors awaited more clarity on the back-and-forth trade war between the US and China.
"An uneasy calm has descended on markets, with a sense that no news is good news in respect of any further tariff announcements for the time being at least," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
The Asia Dow finished 0.8% higher and the Nikkei 225 gained 0.4%, while the Hang Seng closed flat and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2%.
Markets had generally performed solidly over the past week on reports of a thawing of trade tensions between Beijing and Washington DC; though comments from the Trump administration about a potential de-escalation in the stand-off were repeatedly denied by Chinese officials.
"Whether the initial relief is sustained depends on Trump's approach from here and there is still lingering uncertainty about what happens next with tariffs," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
"The 90-day pause on most reciprocal tariffs takes us to July, so as we move into the summer, they will become a live issue once again assuming separate deals aren't already in place."
Monday's mixed performance on equity markets could also reflect investor cautiousness ahead of a busy week full of risk events, such as blue chip corporate earnings, key economic indicators and central bank meetings.
Market movers
Chinese property stocks were among the worst performers of the day, with Poly Developments & Holdings and Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings falling sharply, despite Citi analysts saying last week that it was a "good time" to accumulate positions in the sector.
Chinese banking stocks, such as China CITC Bank and China Construction Bank, were in demand, along with Japanese auto names like Toyota and Nissan.
Toyota was also making headlines after its chairman Akio Toyoda announced a proposal to take private the automaker's key parts supplier, Toyota Industries, for JPY4trn ($28bn), with shares in the latter up 23%.
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