Sydney Harbour and the skyline of the central business district (CBD) in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Joerg Wuttke, partner at advisory firm DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group, described Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte's allocation of 3.5% of GDP for "hard defense" and 1.5% for broader security investments as a "smart move" that was "good for the economy."

"We have huge supply chains waiting for the money to come in. It's not just tanks. It's going to be drones. It's going to be software," he added.

However, Europe will have to figure out its defense supply chain, he added. "Who's building the planes? Who's going to build the tanks, who's going to build the drones? ...We have to see how much Rutte can actually manage to streamline these supply chains in the military industrial complex."

Strong government demand will also be integral in attracting investors from the private sector. "There has to be a predictable demand story for private-owned enterprises in order to come up with money into research labs, into corporations, with universities," he said.

"The whole ecosystem is waiting for predictability."

– Neha Hegde, Penny Chen

The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to cut its cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.6% in its July meeting, Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote in a note after the release of Australia's inflation data.

The monthly consumer price inflation in May came in at 2.1%, below the 2.3% estimated by economists polled by Reuters.

"A benign monthly CPI print in May and a steady labor market allow the RBA to move the cash rate back to neutral at a relatively swift pace," CBA economists wrote, adding that they also expect a follow-up 25 basis points rate cut in August.

"Today's monthly CPI print capped off a flow of data that should provide comfort to the RBA that a swifter return of the cash rate to neutral is both manageable and needed," the economists said.

— Lee Ying Shan

Shares of gaming firms NetEase and Tencent rose Wednesday after China's gaming regulator approved 158 publishing licenses in June, the largest number this year.

The National Press and Public Administration said in a notice late Tuesday that it granted over a hundred new game licenses to the likes of Tencent, Baidu, NetEase and ByteDance, including a dozen imported games.

NetEase's shares listed in Hong Kong rose as much as 1.6%, extending gains of about 1% in its U.S.-listed shares. Moves in Tencent shares were relatively muted, rising as much as 0.6%. But its over-the-counter shares in the U.S. were up 1.97% overnight, according to LSEG data.

Shares of the gaming developers had taken a beating when Beijing enacted an 18-month freeze on game license approval until early 2022.

Since then, the number of licenses has been on a steady rise.

The number of new game licenses rose to 1,416 in 2024, near the level seen in 2020, and is expected to match or exceed 2019's level this year.

— Anniek Bao

Australia's monthly inflation rate came in at 2.1% in May, hitting its lowest level since October 2024.

This was lower than the 2.3% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and also down from the 2.4% in April.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that food and housing inflation also softened from the month before, while transport prices continued to decline.

— Lim Hui Jie

Oil prices climbed over 1% in early Asia hours Wednesday after two sessions of declines stateside.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.34% to $65.23 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent was up 1.28% at $68 per barrel as of 9.18 a.m. Singapore time.

This comes after oil prices tumbled for a second day Tuesday, as the market bet that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran would hold and the risk of a major crude supply disruption had faded.

While there has been a brief recovery, the sharp decline in oil prices indicates the "continuing dominance of bears in the market," said Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro's chief market analyst.

—Lee Ying Shan

China is devising more ways for foreign institutions to use the yuan, as international confidence in the U.S. dollar falters.

The moves aim at challenging the greenback, experts said, even as the U.S. dollar remains by far the world's predominant currency. The timing is favorable as the U.S. dollar index has tumbled more than 9% this year — while the offshore yuan has strengthened more than 2% against the dollar.

"China appears to be accelerating its de-dollarization efforts, though progress remains uneven," said Dan Wang, director of Eurasia Group's China team.

Overseas investors looking to diversify away from America and hedge against U.S. assets are also boosting the yuan, said Ning Sun, senior EM strategist at State Street Global.

Read the full story here.

—Lee Ying Shan, Evelyn Cheng

Stocks closed higher on Tuesday while oil slid, with investor appetite for risk growing on the heels of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

The S&P 500 added 1.11% to finish the session at 6,092.18, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.43% to 19,912.53. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 507.24 points, or 1.19%, to close at 43,089.02.

Oil tumbled 6%, extending a slide from Monday.

— Brian Evans

A weakening in the labor market could give the Federal Reserve ample ammunition to cut interest rates in the fall, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics senior U.S. economist Oliver Allen.

"The FOMC's hesitation to commit to a particular course on monetary policy is understandable given the big uncertainties that remain around tariffs and their economic impact," Allen wrote on Tuesday. "But we think the evidence of a marked deterioration in the labor market will be stark enough by September to convince the Fed to resume easing policy, despite lingering worries about inflation."

— Brian Evans

Oil prices could slide further if the current range of $64 per barrel to $65 is breached, according to Piper Sandler.

"The overnight news of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran resulted in Oil retreating further to $64-$65, and testing new support at last week's breakout point," chief market technician Craig Johnson wrote wrote in a Tuesday note. "If it fails to hold here, then a further decline below $60 is likely."

— Brian Evans