Asia report: Chief protectionist Trump sees markets finish mixed

Markets in Asia finished mixed on Tuesday, with investors still reacting the President Trump’s policies, and the resulting softer dollar having an effect on the region’s currencies.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 extended Monday’s losses, losing 0.55% to 18,787.99.

Beleaguered airbag maker Takata watched its shares stumble and lost 6%, as concerns grew that the courts were becoming involved in its domestic turnaround plans.

Takata is currently occupied by choosing a financier to assist it with the significant costs of replacing around 100 million potentially defective and fatal airbag inflators.

A number of possible financial backers have said they would like a court-guided turnaround for the company, which the board stringently opposes.

The shares had now lost almost 50% since the close last Wednesday.

On the currency front, the yen weakened in late trading and was last 0.55% behind at JPY 113.33 per $1.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite added 0.2% to finish at 3,143.09, while the Shenzhen Composite was down 0.3% to 1,896.45.

In South Korea, the Kospi was virtually flat again, closing down 0.01% at 2,065.76 after a session spent bobbing above and below the waterline.

Technology giant Samsung Electronics managed to finished 0.26% higher, after it reported a 50% improvement in operating profit in the fourth quarter to KRW 9.22trn.

That was in line with its earlier guidance, as a stellar period for its semiconductor arm outweighed the cancelled fire-prone Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.

The firm’s revenue was flat year-on-year at KRW 53.3trn.

Samsung also announced a share buyback plan for 2017, worth KRW 9.3trn.

Also in the Korean tech sector, LG Display lost 2.31% after it confirmed plans to sell all of LG Siltron to KRW 620bn.

The LCD screen producer also said on Tuesday that its operating profit fell 19% in 2016 to KRW 1.3trn.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished 0.22% higher at 22,949.86.

In Malaysia, the publicly traded airline AirAsia was up 0.82%, clawing back from the 5% fall on Monday.

The country’s biggest airline formally denied it did anything wrong in relation to the Rolls-Royce bribery scandal.

Trump formally pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Tuesday, which was a follow-through of one of his campaign promises, claiming it would protect American workers.

The deal, made over a number of years by 12 nations in the Asia-Pacific region, was one of President Obama’s key policies in his policy pivot towards Asia.

President Trump met with business leaders on Monday as well, giving them a vague promise that regulation could be slashed by 75% “or maybe more”.

“Investors are nervous due to Trump's protectionism policies and their hope is that his tax cut policies could perhaps save the day for them,” noted ThinkMarkets chief market analyst Naeem Aslam.

Oil prices were higher during Asian trading, with Brent crude last up 0.27% at $55.38 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate adding 0.42% to $52.97.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.72% higher at 5,651.6, with a strong showing from the materials subindex, which added 2.65%.

That came after base metals prices surged in the US overnight on the back of Trump’s infrastructure spending promises, and the softer dollar.

Of the major miners in Sydney, BHP Billiton was up 2.5%, Fortescue Metals added 5.4% and Rio Tinto was 3.62% firmer.

Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand benchmark was down on mixed trading, with the S&P/NZX 50 losing 0.05% to 7,064.16.

Honey and health products manufacturer Comvita was the winner of the day, adding 7.5% after its 17% drop on Monday following a severe profit warning, while chicken products producer Tegel Group was the worst performer, losing 2.3%.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker in late Asian trading, with the Kiwi backing away 0.08% to NZD 1.3837 against the greenback, and the Aussie off 0.27% to AUD 1.3223 per $1.