Asia stocks rise as wall street rally ends

May 21, 2025 (MLN): Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher on Wednesday after Wall Street ended its six-day winning streak.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged down 0.23% following news that the country's exports declined for a second consecutive month amid broad U.S. tariffs imposed under President Donald Trump.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.58%, and the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.95%. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.43%.

In Greater China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opened 0.45% higher, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index remained flat.

Investors are also eyeing the Bank of Indonesia’s policy decision due later in the day. HSBC noted that the central bank had cut interest rates in September 2024 and January 2025, but has held them steady at 5.75% since then.

The bank may now need to initiate a deeper rate-cut cycle, according to HSBC economists, who pointed to weak first-quarter GDP and a depreciating currency as reasons to restart easing measures in May.

In the U.S., futures showed minimal movement. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures each declined by 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 93 points, also down 0.2%.

On Tuesday, major U.S. indexes closed lower. The S&P 500 fell 0.39% to 5,940.46, ending its six-session rally, as CNBC reported.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.38% to close at 19,142.71, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 114.83 points, or 0.27%, closing at 42,677.24.

The pullback was led by a sell-off in tech stocks, which had driven recent gains. The tech sector dropped 0.5%, with Nvidia down 0.9%.

Other major names including Advanced Micro Devices, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Microsoft also saw losses.

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