Asia-Pacific markets set to mostly climb on U.S.-China trade talks

Asia-Pacific markets are set to mostly climb Wednesday after reports that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer are set to meet with their Chinese counterparts this week, in what could mark the beginning of potential negotiations over President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 is set to open higher, with the futures contract in Chicago at 37,185 against the index’s last close of 36,830.69.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 22,837, higher than its last close of 22,662.71.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is set to decline, with futures standing at 8,138, slightly lower than the index’s close of 8,151.4.

Bessent and Greer are set to hold talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland this week to address trade and economic issues.

The discussions mark a potential turning point in de-escalating the trade tensions ignited by Trump, who last month raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% while easing levies on most other countries. In response, China imposed heavy tariffs on U.S. products.

U.S. stock futures advanced Tuesday night as investors monitored the latest updates on U.S. trade negotiations and looked toward the Federal Reserve interest rate announcement expected Wednesday afternoon. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 280 points, or 0.7%. S&P 500 futures popped 0.8%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rallied 1%.

Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 389.83 points, or 0.95%, to close at 40,829.00. The S&P 500 shed 0.77% and settled at 5,606.91, and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.87% to end at 17,689.66. All three of the major averages posted back-to-back declines.

— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Pia Singh contributed to this report.