Asia stocks encouraged by US-Russia talks; Japan’s Nikkei hits record high Investing.com-- Most Asia stocks rose on Monday as risk appetite was supported by some signs of progress in U.S.-Russia dialogue over a Ukraine ceasefire, although gains were limited by declines in technology and energy shares. Japanese stocks hit fresh record highs after a strong run last week, while Chinese markets were boosted by U.S. President Donald Trump stating that he will not impose any near-term tariffs on Beijing over its purchase of Russian oil. Indian stocks also appeared poised for a strong open amid hopes that a Ukraine ceasefire will see Trump not impose his proposed 50% tariffs on New Delhi. Gains in Asian markets came as U.S. stock index futures advanced in regional trade, with S&P 500 Futures up 0.2%. Chinese stocks surge, Indian futures rise on Russia-Ukraine hopes China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rose 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively, while losses in tech saw Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index add only 0.2%. Gift Nifty 50 Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index surged 1.2%, pointing to a positive open after a long weekend. Shares in both countries were encouraged by hopes that the U.S. will not disrupt their buying of Russian oil, especially if a peace deal is reached between Moscow and Kyiv. Trump met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday and flagged positive, albeit vague developments from the meeting. Trump is now said to meet a host of European leaders, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday. Trump on Sunday evening claimed Zelensky could end the war by ceding the Crimea region to Russia and dropping Ukraine’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance. A peace deal stands to limit Trump’s ire over India and China buying Russian oil, which he recently claimed was funding Russia’s war against Ukraine. Trump outlined 50% tariffs on Indian exports to the U.S. as punishment for buying Russian oil, with the duties set to take effect later in August. Japan stocks at record high, others less upbeat Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes remained key outperformers in Asia, rising 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively, while also hitting record highs. Japanese markets were boosted chiefly by Japan’s government dismissing speculation that the U.S. was pressuring the Bank of Japan into raising interest rates. This came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the BOJ was “behind the curve” on policy and needed to raise interest rates. Bessent’s comments were accompanied by robust second-quarter gross domestic product data released on Friday, which showed the Japanese economy remaining strong despite increasing headwinds from trade tariffs and inflation. The GDP print had also boosted Japanese markets on Friday. Japanese stocks were also boosted by weakness in the yen, which supported export-oriented sectors. Other Asian markets were less positive, pressured by a mix of profit-taking and weakness in technology shares. South Korea’s KOSPI slid 1.3% after a long weekend, with local tech stocks catching up to late last-week losses in their U.S. peers. Australia’s ASX 200 was flat, stalling below record highs hit last week on some losses in heavyweight mining and energy stocks. Oil stocks across Asia slid tracking weakness in oil prices, which were hit by growing bets on a Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Singapore’s Straits Times index shed 0.6% after hitting record highs last week.

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