Friday, May 16, 2025

Asian markets stagger into weekend as trade rally runs out of legs

INTRO: Most Asian markets were down as investors consolidated gains from the China-US trade war truce, having enjoyed one of their best weeks since Donald Trump unleashed his so-called reciprocal tariffs last month.

Investors are now looking for signals from the US president on the progress of talks with trading partners as governments line up to strike deals to avoid his steep levies as Laura Westbrook reports.