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Asian stock markets shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats on Tuesday as regional stock indexes hit near record highs, while South Korea saw a dramatic reversal during the day.
The muted reactions suggest investors are unmoved by Trump’s trade rhetoric, seeing his threats more as negotiating tactics than imminent policy changes.
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Asia is learning to ignore the noise
Asian stocks generally rose despite Trump’s warning of higher tariffs on South Korean goods. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.19%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.78%, the Australian Stock Exchange added 0.92%, and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.43% sequentially during afternoon trading hours.
Analysts noted that markets have learned that Trump tends to back off after issuing threats, describing this latest move as a tactic.
Trump has repeatedly used tariff threats as a negotiating tool, only to delay or reverse course. Earlier this month, he threatened to impose tariffs on European goods in Greenland, Then come back. A similar model was repeated with Canada. The markets have called this trend “Taco” – Trump always backs down.
Cosby in Korea breaks the transformation record
Trump posted On Social Truth On Monday he will raise tariffs on cars, spare parts, the wood industry, medicine and reciprocal customs duties in South Korea from 15% to 25%, accusing the country’s legislature of not codifying a trade agreement reached with Washington in July. No executive order has been issued.
South Korea’s Kospi opened sharply lower after the news, falling to 4,890. But the index reversed course to reach a high of 5,080, up 2.64% – a change of more than 190 points. SK Hynix rose 8.7%, and Samsung Electronics added 4.8%, with foreign and institutional investors becoming net buyers.
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Explained by local experts Cosby is used to Trump’s tariff theatrics, with profit-driven sectors such as semiconductors and energy equipment leading the increase.
The South Korean government moved quickly to calm the markets. The president’s office noted that the fee increase will require formal administrative procedures to implement, not just social media posts. The ruling party announced plans to present the US investment bill to the committee review in February, giving the stated reason for Trump’s threat.
What happens when the shovel stops working?
Trump’s decrease in leverage could mark a turning point for cryptocurrency markets. If tariff threats no longer spread volatility, traders will need new catalysts – and these factors will likely come from the fundamentals.
This means that ETF flows, on-chain adoption metrics, and actual regulatory progress will be more important than presidential tweets. The stablecoin bill in Congress, the next executive move of the SEC, and the institutional position become the real signals.
In a market immune to vanity, only substance drives prices.
Cryptocurrencies are on the rise, but Korean retail remains cold
Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $88,342 on Tuesday, while gold hit $5,082 an ounce — both benefiting from risk-on sentiment despite uncertainty over rates.
However, Korean cryptocurrency investors seem very conservative. Cryptoquant’s Korea Premium Index, which measures the price gap between Korean exchanges and global markets, was only 1.4%. This figure is well below the 15-22% levels seen during the previous retail-led turmoil in 2021 and late 2024, suggesting that local investors are not chasing crypto gains in the same haste.
With the KOSPI index rising to record highs and AI-related stocks dominating trading volume, Korean capital appears to be focusing more on domestic stocks rather than digital assets – at least for now.
