Trump’s charm offensive in Asia sends Nikkei 225 to record heights

U.S. President Donald Trump has been touring Asia and his upbeat comments on relations with major economies like Japan and China have helped fuel rallies while U.S. stocks have pushed further into record heights.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 jumped 2.2% to 51,307.65.

After a charm offensive in Japan that culminated in $490 billion in investment commitments, President Donald Trump met with South Korea’s leader on Wednesday, though a trade deal with that country appeared more elusive.

Top officials in Washington and and Seoul say the sticking point for an agreement continues to be the logistics behind Trump’s demand that South Korea invest $350 billion in the United States.

Still, South Korea's Kospi rose 1.8% to 4,081.15.

The Shanghai Composite index surged 0.7% at 4,016.33. It has been trading near decade highs ahead of Trump's expected meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a regional summit in South Korea.

Trump and Xi have been locked in an escalating trade war, with Washington imposing high tariffs and tightened technology controls and China retaliating with curbs on rare earth shipments, one of its key sources of leverage.

The fact that a meeting is planned suggests there is room for some progress in easing tensions, experts say.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 1% to 8,926.20 after the release of higher than expected inflation data, an annual rate of 3.2%, dashed hopes for an interest rate cut anytime soon.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.2% and India's Sensex rose 0.5%.

On Tuesday, the U.S. stock market pushed further into record heights.

The S&P 500 added 0.2% to 6,890.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 47,706.37, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8% to 23,827.49. All three indexes set all-time highs for a third straight day.

Wall Street is waiting for a few events that could shake things up. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest move on interest rates, while some of the stock market’s most influential companies will report how much profit they made during the summer.

Investors expect the Fed to announce a rate cut given the slowing job market. It would be the second time this year that it’s lowered the federal funds rate in hopes of helping the job market.

United Parcel Service rallied 8% Tuesday after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

PayPal climbed 3.9% after saying it made a bigger profit during the summer than analysts expected. It also said it plans to pay its shareholders a dividend every three months, while announcing a deal where internet users will be able to pay for purchases through OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Skyworks Solutions climbed 5.8% after saying it would merge with Qorvo in a cash-and-stock deal where Skyworks shareholders will own roughly 63% of the combined company, valued at $22 billion. Qorvo’s stock rose nearly as much, 5.7%.

Microsoft was one of the strongest forces lifting the market after rising 2%. That sent the company's total value on Wall Street above $4 trillion.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Royal Caribbean, which lost 8.5% despite reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. Its revenue for the latest quarter fell short of expectations.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton sank 3.2% after reporting a weaker profit for the summer than analysts expected.

Amazon, meanwhile, rose 1% after saying it will cut about 14,000 corporate jobs, or about 4% of its corporate workforce, as it ramps up spending on artificial intelligence while cutting costs elsewhere.

In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil inched up 5 cents to $60.20 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 4 cents, to $63.87 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 152.26 Japanese yen from 152.11 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1629 from $1.1651.