Delhi, 21 April (H.S.): The Asia-Pacific markets showed mixed results on Monday as China’s central bank maintained its key loan prime rates amid pressure on the yuan linked to trade tensions with the U.S. Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.18% following the People’s Bank of China’s decision to keep the one-year and five-year prime rates steady at 3.10% and 3.60%, respectively, aligning with economists’ expectations. Conversely, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell by 1.24% and the Topix index declined 1.18%. South Korea’s Kospi index remained flat, while the Kosdaq dropped 0.27%.

Australian and Hong Kong markets were closed for the Easter holiday.

Investor focus remains on U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies, which have been volatile for global markets. U.S. futures experienced losses after all major indices recorded three weekly declines in the past four weeks, with the S&P 500 down 1.5% over the short holiday week. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq each posted over 2% declines.

As U.S. futures continued to fall, Brent Crude approached $68 per barrel, recovering from earlier declines to $60. In commodity markets, gold reached new highs near $3,400 an ounce, driven by increased demand for safe-haven assets amidst ongoing trade war concerns. The International Monetary Fund is anticipated to lower its growth outlook, and fresh purchasing manager indexes will provide insights into economic activity post-Trump’s tariffs.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar