Japanese and Chinese markets recorded declines in most of their major indices at the close of trading on Monday, July 7, the opening session of the week, as concerns over tariffs returned to markets following US President Donald Trump’s remarks on Sunday. Japanese markets were also affected by financial concerns ahead of the Senate elections.
President Trump announced on Sunday that the White House would notify countries with which no agreement has yet been reached of higher tariffs by July 9, with the tariffs to take effect on August 1. He also revealed an additional 10% tariff rate for countries that support the BRICS policies.
From Japan, a poll published in local media revealed that the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner, Komeito, may lose their majority in the upper house of parliament in the elections scheduled for July 20.
Meanwhile, figures from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed that real wages in Japan fell by 2.9% in May, following a 2% decline in April, marking the fifth consecutive monthly decline. The Nikkei index closed at 39,587, down 0.56%, or 223 points, while the Topix index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell by approximately 0.57% today, closing at 2,811. Yaskawa Electric SMC Group led the declines on the Nikkei index, with losses of more than 7%. Yaskawa Electric, a machinery manufacturer, lowered its annual operating profit forecast amid uncertainty surrounding demand due to the ramifications of customs policies.

Chinese indices witnessed mixed results in today’s opening session, with the broader CSI300 index falling by approximately 0.43% today, closing at 3,965 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed with slight gains of 0.02%, closing at 3,473. The Hang Seng Index, the main index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, fell by approximately 0.23% today, closing at 23,860 points, with declines in Xinyi Solar Holding and Wuxi Biologics leading the index’s losses, with declines of more than 4%.
Conversely, the South Korean Kospi index rose by approximately 0.17% in today’s session, closing at 3,059 points.
The Indian Sensex index rose by approximately 0.03% before closing at 83,414 points, while the Nifty 50 index declined by approximately 0.03%, trading at 25,451 points. New Zealand stock markets closed with losses today, with the NZX 50 index declining by 0.01% to close at 12,764 points, while Australia’s ASX 200 index fell by 0.33% to close at 8.58 points. Singapore’s main index rose by 0.30% in pre-market trading. Markets are awaiting the Reserve Bank of Australia’s meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, in the Asian session, where the bank is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.60%.