These 10 Asian markets offer high returns on short-term rentals — half top $40,000 a year
This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Tuesday as investors assessed U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.10%, while the Hang Seng tech index plunged 3.37% (view post).Meanwhile, mainland China’s CSI 300 lost 0.36%.South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.37% in choppy while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 0.72%.Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.43%. The country’s budget will be tabled by Treasurer Jim Chalmers later in the day.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.73%, while the broader Topix index increased 0.32%.U.S. futures edged down marginally after the three key Wall Street indexes logged gains overnight.The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 597.97 points, or 1.42%, to end at 42,583.32. The S&P 500 added 1.76% and closed at 5,767.57, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 2.27% to settle at 18,188.59.Shares of Tesla, which have fallen for nine straight weeks, rose nearly 12%, adding to their Friday gains. Meta Platforms and Nvidia climbed more than 3%.— CNBC’s Pia Singh, Brian Evans and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.Hang Seng index plunges over 2%Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index traded more than 2% lower on Tuesday.The Hang Seng Tech Index was down 2.15% as of 11 a.m. local time. The worst performers include BYD Electronic, which plunged 9.80%, Sunny Optical Technology Group which lost 7.36% and Xiaomi Corp which was down 6.32% (view post)Several major Chinese companies are listed on the index, which is up 16.35% since the start of the year.The Hang Seng Tech index was down 3.23%.The Hang Seng Tech Index ETF shows the day’s moves:— Amala BalakrishnerBYD shares fell more than 3% in early trade after FY2024 sales tops Tesla’sShares of BYD fell as much as 3.22% in early trade on Tuesday, on the back of a 73.1% surge in its net profit for the fourth-quarter to a record 15 billion yuan ($2.1 billion).The Chinese electric vehicle giant’s fourth-quarter revenue rose 52.7% at 274.9 billion yuan, the company announced in a regulatory filing on Monday.Its fiscal year 2024 revenue increased 29% to 777 billion yuan ($107.12 billion) – surpassing Tesla’s $97.7 billion revenue in FY2024. — Amala BalakrishnerShares in Xiaomi plunge over 5% following upsized share saleShares in Chinese tech giant Xiaomi fell as much as 5.61% on Tuesday following its upsized $5.5 billion share sale to ramp up its electric vehicle manufacturing plans.The company sold 800 million shares at 53.25 Hong Kong dollars ($6.85) each, the company said in a regulatory filing.— Amala BalakrishnerBOJ minutes show that board members considered additional rate hikes in futureThe Bank of Japan will continue to raise interest rates if the country’s economy and inflation continues to develop “in line with its outlook”, minutes from the central bank showed. In its minutes, one of the BOJ’s board members pointed out that real interest rates were expected to remain significantly negative after the policy interest rate hike, and the Bank should to continue to raise rates so that the negative real interest rates would shrink.Other members also noted concerns over inflation, saying that risks to prices had become more skewed to the upside.The BOJ’s forecast in January showed that the bank is expecting core inflation to come in at 2.4%, while GDP growth is expected to be at 1.1%.— Lim Hui JieJapan’s Topix briefly hit eight-month high of 2,818.36Japan’s Topix index opened higher on Tuesday, and briefly hit 2,818.36 — its highest level in eight months.As at 9.35 a.m. local time, the broad-based index had gained 0.78%.Gains were led by inkjet printer manufacturer Mimaki Engineering which advanced 9.11%, beverage firm Yomeishu Seizo which rose 5.67% and electrical equipment manufacturer Fujikura which was up 4.97%.— Amala BalakrishnerHyundai Motor shares gain over 5% following $21 billion investment in the U.S.Shares in South Korea’s Hyundai Motor rose 5.16% in early trade Tuesday, after it invested $21 billion in the United States on Monday state side.The amount invested includes a new $5.8 billion plant for Hyundai Steel in the state of Louisiana, which will create over 1,400 jobs and produce over 2.7 million metric tons of steel annually.The plant is also expected to supply steel to auto plants in Alabama and Georgia.Shares in Hyundai Steel was up 1.19% as at 9.19 a.m. local time.— Amala BalakrishnerTrump says U.S. will impose 25% tariffs on countries that buy oil, gas from Venezuela Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty ImagesU.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 24, 2025.President Trump said the U.S. will impose 25% tariffs on countries that buy oil and gas from Venezuela, as he seeks to increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro and China.Countries that buy oil and gas from Venezuela will face tariffs on any trade they have with the U.S., Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. The tariffs take effect April 2, the president said.Venezuela exported about 660,000 barrels per day in 2024, according to data from Kpler. China was the largest destination for the South American nation’s crude exports, purchasing 270,000 barrels per day last year.“This announcement by the Trump administration appears to be one more action targeting China,” Matt Smith, an oil analyst at Kpler, told CNBC.Brent crude futures rose 61 cents, or 0.85%, to $72.77 a barrel by 1:15 p.m. ET. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 59 cents, or 0.86%, at $68.87.— Spencer Kimball