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Trump’s Whirlwind Diplomacy
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Good Morning. If the world had thought it could look away from US president Donald Trump and his tariff threats, it had it all wrong. Trump’s whirlwind South-East and East Asia, collecting medals and trinkets along the way, was a reminder that he is still to be reckoned with. Aside from China’s thaw on rare earth metals, however, no real headway was made on tariffs or trade deals.
Indian equity indices plummeted on Thursday after the US Fed rate cut. The BSE Sensex closed at 84,404.46, down 592.67 points, or 0.7%. The NSE closed at 25,877.75, falling 176.05 points, or 0.68%.
Trade deals, A Gold Medal And A Crown: Diplomacy Trump Style
Even as Hurricane Melissa ripped off roofs in Jamaica, killed dozens in Haiti, and wreaked damage in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, another kind of whirlwind swept through South-East and East Asia. US president Donald Trump visited Malaysia, Japan and South Korea in rapid succession, taking home trade deals, a gold medal and a gold crown, the latter two artefacts being gifts — bribes, say the uncharitable — from South Korea.
The highlight of Trump’s Asian tour was, of course, his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. While no trade deal has been finalised and published, Trump claimed that the meeting between the leaders of the world’s largest and second-largest economies scored 12 on a scale of 0-10.
Benefit For India?
The details are scarce, except for China suspending its export restrictions on rare-earth products for a year. Additionally, the US has reduced the 20% penal import duty levied on imports from China, linked to the alleged crime of exporting fentanyl precursor chemicals, by half. China, which had stopped agricultural imports from the US, causing much heartburn among Trump’s ardent rural voters, has placed an order for one shipload of soybeans.
The suspension of the export restriction on rare earth exports is likely to benefit all countries, including India. It is politic for China to suspend export restrictions in general, rather than to appear to have succumbed to American pressure.
Diplomacy, Trump-Style
In Japan, Trump visited the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, to call on Emperor Naruhito, where he was greeted with much pomp and ceremony. Then, Trump met with Japan’s newly elected woman prime minister, Takaichi Sanae, whose proximity to the late Shinzo Abe, who had had a good relationship with president Trump in his first term, helped her get along well with the US president.
Again, while no formal deals have been signed, it seems probable that the import duty on car exports from Japan would be reduced to 15%, on par with automobile imports from other major auto exporters. Japan made some progress in identifying how precisely Japanese companies would make good on the ransom of $550 billion investment in the US that Trump had extracted from Takaichi’s predecessor in return for agreeing to a trade deal.
South Korea also appears to have won reprieve on automobile tariffs, now bringing them down to the 15% all other major automobile exporters face in the US. At the same time, there is less clarity than in Japan’s case on how the ransom of $350 billion of Korean investment in the US that Trump had extracted in the past would be delivered.
In Malaysia, Trump reiterated his claim to a Nobel prize despite his biggest claim to it, the Gaza peace plan, unravelling.
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CORE NUMBER
$78 billion
That’s how much tech giants Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft collectively spent on capital expenditures in Q3 2025, an 89% jump from last year, mainly on data centres, GPUs, and AI infrastructure, Bloomberg reported.
Outcome: While Google shares rose on Thursday, Meta and Microsoft shares dropped as investors reacted to the surge in spending. Meta also warned that 2026 outlays will be “notably larger” than this year.
Setup: Microsoft, which invested $13 billion in OpenAI, reported a record $34.9 billion in capital spending, citing soaring demand for AI and cloud services. Google’s AI assistant Gemini now has 650 million monthly users, and its cloud business grew 34% year-on-year. Meta, which doesn’t sell cloud services externally like Microsoft or Google, faces higher risks.
FROM THE PERIPHERY
Cobrapost vs Anil Ambani!
Anil Ambani’s Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group allegedly siphoned off Rs 28,874 crore from bank loans, IPO proceeds, and bond issues into promoter-controlled entities, according to a Cobrapost investigation. The probe also claims ADA entities routed $1.53 billion into India through offshore channels, taking the total alleged amount to Rs 41,921 crore.
Fast Facts: The group, according to the investigation, routed funds as loans and debentures through shell firms in Mauritius, Cyprus, and Jersey, eventually moving the money to its promoter company, Reliance Innoventure Pvt Ltd. It also accuses regulators such as SEBI, RBI, ED, CBI, and SFIO of failing to act despite repeated red flags under RBI’s rules for identifying wilful defaulters.
Flashpoint: Reliance Group has denied the charges, calling Cobrapost’s findings “a deliberate and sustained campaign of calumny, disinformation, and character assassination.” It said the probe aims to “create confusion and undermine shareholder confidence.”
Securing Tomorrow’s Minerals.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday announced that several Indian firms have obtained licenses to import rare earths from China. These minerals, vital for technologies such as electric vehicles, defence systems, and solar panels, have faced supply risks after China’s export restrictions.
The Backstory: China recently scaled back rare earth exports to the US amid rising trade tensions, deepening global concerns over supply security. To safeguard domestic industries, India plans to build strategic reserves and boost local processing under the National Critical Mineral Mission, which has an outlay of Rs 500 crore, The Economic Times reported.
What's Next? The initiative will encourage private players to establish mineral processing parks and advance R&D in mineral beneficiation, reagents, and electrolytes. Experts said that while building such capabilities will take time, partnerships like the one with the UK can help accelerate progress.
Hyundai India Q2.
Driven by strong SUV sales and robust exports, Hyundai Motor India posted a 14.3% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,572 crore for the September 2025 quarter, up from Rs 1,375 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations edged up 1.2% YoY to Rs 17,461 crore.
Context: Exports were a key growth driver, with shipments to the Middle East and Africa up 35% and Mexico up 11%. At a media briefing, the company said, “export margins are generally better than domestic” and expressed confidence in exceeding its full-year guidance. SUVs continued to lead Hyundai’s lineup, contributing 71% of total sales volumes during the quarter.
Setting: In the domestic market, Hyundai faced muted demand, mirroring the broader auto industry’s slowdown. However, the recent government tax relief announced in late September is expected to improve consumer sentiment and support a recovery in passenger vehicle sales in the coming months. Hyundai is also set to launch its second-generation Venue on November 4.
THE CORE QUIZ
Which publication alleged that India’s Finance Ministry nudged LIC to invest in Adani Group bonds? |
India may soon raise the foreign-ownership cap in state-run banks from 20% to what? |
Nvidia hit a record market valuation of roughly how much, becoming the world’s most valuable listed firm? |
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