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Investors ponder Trump tax bill as they watch Asian shares rise and the dollar fluctuate

The dollar remained near its multi-year lows as Asian shares rose and markets awaited the vote on President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill.

The global share markets rose to an intraday high on Monday on the back of trade optimism. However, a marathon Senate debate over a bill that would add approximately $3.3 trillion in debt to the United States weighed down sentiment.

The Nikkei index of Japan's shares fell as much as 1,3%, as the yen rose against the dollar. This was bad for exporters. Gold and oil both advanced for the second session in a row.

The vote on Trump's tax-cutting and spending bill was expected to take place during Tuesday's Asian trading session, but the debate continued over a series of amendments from Republicans and minority Democrats.

Trump wants to see the bill pass before the Independence Day holiday on July 4. Investors are also looking forward to Thursday's key U.S. employment data as global trade negotiators rush to reach agreements before Trump's deadlines.

Ray Attrill is the head of FX Strategy at National Australia Bank.

In a podcast, he said that the payroll data released later in the week would "have a significant impact, I believe, on the sentiment regarding the timing of Fed rate reductions."

The MSCI broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose 0.4%, with South Korea's Kospi gauge leading the way at 1.1%.

The latest readings of the Bank of Japan’s tankan business sentiment index and a Chinese gauge of manufacturing activity indicate that the largest economies in the area are likely to weather the tariff storm at least for the moment.

Japan's manufacturing sector also grew for the first time since over a month, but a significant drop in demand underscored the difficult trade outlook for Asia’s export-dependent economies.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2%, while China's blue chip CSI300 Index rose 0.1%.

The dollar fell 0.2% to 143.79 Japanese yen. The dollar was barely changed in relation to the euro and had earlier reached $1.1808 - the lowest since September 2021.

U.S. crude fell 0.5% to $64.80 a barrel, weighed down by expectations that OPEC+ would increase its output in August. Gold spot rose 0.6%, to $3322.62 an ounce.

The Euro Stoxx 50 futures for the entire region rose by 0.1%, while German DAX Futures rose by 0.2%.

(source: Reuters)