Asian Shares Rise After Key China Data

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks rose broadly on Tuesday as traders brushed off U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats and reacted positively to Chinese GDP data for the first half of 2025.

China's economy posted a solid 5.3 percent growth in the first half of 2025, demonstrating strong resilience despite a complex global environment, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's June factory output beat forecasts and marked the quickest pace of growth since March but retail sales growth slowed down from the previous month, separate set of data revealed.

Fixed asset investment expanded 2.8 percent in the first six months this year from the same period last year, compared with the expectations for a 3.6 percent rise.

The dollar held near a three-week high in Asian trade ahead of U.S. June CPI data that could provide clues on the path for monetary policy.

The inflation rate likely accelerated for the second consecutive month to 2.7 percent, the highest level since February, up from 2.4 percent in May.

Gold climbed above $3,360 per ounce as a result of increasing trade and geopolitical tensions, while oil prices declined as traders assessed the outlook for Russian supply.

China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.42 percent to 3,505 as the latest GDP data eased the pressure on the need for additional stimulus in the near term.

Investors also fretted about the state of the country's property market after China Vanke Co. said its first-half loss could reach as high as $1.67 billion.

Data revealed China's new home prices fell at the fastest monthly pace in eight months in June, highlighting the struggle to revive demand.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied 1.60 percent to 24,590.12, with tech giants like Baidu and Alibaba surging 4-7 percent amid Nvidia-related optimism.

Japanese markets advanced after Nvidia said it has received U.S. approval to resume exports of its H20 AI chip to China.

The Nikkei average rose 0.55 percent to 39,678.02 despite lingering uncertainty over the upcoming upper house election outcome. The broader Topix index finished marginally higher at 2,825.31.

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest gained 1.8 percent, Tokyo Electron rallied 3.5 percent SoftBank Group added 2 percent.

Japanese government bond yields surged, with the 30-year yield hitting a record high amid fiscal health concerns ahead of the nation elections on July 20.

Seoul stocks eked out modest gains to end higher for a second day running, led by gains in the tech sector. The Kospi average edged up by 0.41 percent to 3,215.28.

Australian markets ended at a record high, led by gains in banking, healthcare and technology sectors. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.70 percent to 8,630.30 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.68 percent at 8,875.30.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended marginally higher at 12,689.63.

U.S. stocks eked out marginal gains overnight despite President Trump threatening new tariffs of 30 percent for the EU and Mexico, and 100 percent secondary tariffs on Russia if a deal on ending the war in Ukraine is not reached within 50 days.

The S&P 500 edged up by 0.1 percent, the Dow gained 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.3 percent after Trump said he was open to more tariff negotiations with major economies.