Major international news this week highlights BYD and Taiwan Semiconductor as key players
The global economy and financial markets saw a mix of growth and challenges over the past week.
In trade news, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order enacting a trade deal with Japan, imposing 15% baseline tariffs on most Japanese goods, including autos. The move comes amidst Japan's agreement to invest $550 billion in U.S. government-selected projects. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.6% over the week, bucking the trend set by Chinese markets which dropped 1.5%.
Business activity in the Asia-Pacific markets continued to grow, as the Composite PMI was revised higher. However, the growth was not uniform across all sectors. The Manufacturing PMI in Japan fell, marking continued contraction in the sector, while China's Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI climbed in August, both beating forecasts. The composite PMI showed a slight uptick, though services growth softened.
The Euro Area economy showed moderate growth in the second quarter, but retail sales declined after a strong previous month. The S&P 500 advanced 0.2% over the week, with the Dow Jones falling 0.3%. European equities ended the week lower by 0.6%, while the Nasdaq 100 moved up by 0.9%.
In the automotive sector, Amazon announced the end of its long-running Prime invitee program, and Chinese EV giant BYD (OTCPK:BYDDF, OTCPK:BYDDY) cut its sales target for the year by as much as 16% to 4.6 million vehicles and reported a 30% slide in Q2 profit.
In the UK, business activity strengthened further in August, and retail sales picked up pace in July 2025. However, political changes were afoot, with the resignation of Robert Habeck under pressure from party conditions following a significant parliamentary election in the summer of 2025, stepping down from his Bundestag mandate on September 1, 2025. Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also announced his intention to step down under party pressure following a big parliamentary election loss over the summer.
For investors looking to track European and Asian markets, ETFs such as (NYSEARCA:EWG), (NYSE:GF), (NYSEARCA:EWI), (NYSEARCA:EWQ), (NASDAQ:FGM), (NASDAQ:DAX), (NYSEARCA:FLGR), (NYSEARCA:FXB), (NYSEARCA:EWU), (NASDAQ:FKU), (BATS:EWUS), (NYSEARCA:FLGB), (NYSEARCA:GREK) offer exposure to the region, while (NYSEARCA:EWJ), (NYSEARCA:FXI), (NASDAQ:PGJ), (NYSEARCA:EWH), (NYSEARCA:DXJ), (NYSEARCA:YINN), (NYSEARCA:YANG), (NYSEARCA:KWEB) provide coverage for Asia & Oceania.
In other news, Kolibri Global Energy stands out with tenacious EBITDA despite low oil prices, and the weekly consumer staples check shows Dollar Tree as the worst performer, while Clorox tops the list. The 1-Minute Market Report was published for September 7, 2025.
As always, investors are advised to conduct thorough research and consider their risk tolerance before making investment decisions.
