Asia report: Markets mixed after Trump's steel tariff surprise
Asia-Pacific markets saw mixed trading on Monday as investors remained cautious over the prospect of new US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
President Donald Trump indicated over the weekend that he planned to impose a 25% tariff on all such imports, fueling concerns about escalating trade tensions.
“The dollar strengthened after president Trump announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports, heightening concerns over global trade tensions,” said TickMill market strategy partner Patrick Munnelly.
“While Hong Kong stocks continued their rally, driven by technology for a third straight session, the broader performance of equities was mixed.
“Asian stocks saw their largest decline in a week, while US and European futures posted slight gains.”
Munnelly noted that Trump's tariff announcement deepened market anxieties ahead of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's semi-annual congressional testimony, and the potential for further retaliatory tariffs aimed at multiple nations.
“Although Trump mentioned the tariffs would be applied universally, he did not clarify the timeline for implementation.
“The modest rise in US stock futures during Asian trading hours suggests tentative buying interest after Friday's 1% drop in the S&P 500.”
Markets mixed after Trump’s latest tariff tirade
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 edged up 0.04% to 38,801.17, while the broader Topix slipped 0.15% to 2,733.01.
Shares of DeNA surged 23.09%, leading gains, followed by Taiyo Yuden, which rose 22.05%.
Nippon Paper Industries added 9.03%.
Chinese markets advanced, with the Shanghai Composite gaining 0.56% to 3,322.17 and the Shenzhen Component rising 0.52% to 10,631.25.
JiShi Media, Guangdong Rongtai Industry, and Shanghai Tongji Science & Technology Industrial all posted gains exceeding 10% in Shanghai.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index outperformed the region with a 1.84% jump to 21,521.98, driven by strong performances from Alibaba Health Information Technology, Meituan, and Alibaba Group.
South Korea’s Kospi 100 added 0.2% to 2,523.03, helped by a nearly 6% rise in Woori Financial Group and gains in Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung Electronics.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.34% to 8,482.80, dragged lower by CAR Group, JB Hi-Fi, and Wisetech Global, all of which fell more than 4%.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 slipped 0.2% to 12,876.35, with Oceania Healthcare, Heartland Group, and KMD Brands leading declines.
In currency markets, the dollar was last 0.48% stronger on the yen, trading at JPY 152.14.
The greenback was meanwhile mixed against its antipodean counterparts, falling 0.11% on the Aussie to AUD 1.5921, while it gained 0.01% against the Kiwi, changing hands at NZD 1.7670.
Oil prices rose, with Brent crude futures last up 1.37% on ICE at $75.68 per barrel, and the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate gaining 1.41% to $72.00.
Consumer inflation picks up in China, producer prices still under pressure
In economic news, consumer inflation in China reached a five-month high in January, driven by increased spending ahead of the Lunar New Year.
Official data from the National Bureau of Statistics over the weekend showed the consumer price index rose 0.7% from the previous month and 0.5% year on year, exceeding market expectations of a 0.4% annual increase.
At the same time, China’s producer prices remained under pressure, with the producer price index declining 2.3% from a year earlier, a sharper drop than the 2.1% forecast.
In Japan, bank lending grew 3% year on year in January, slightly below December’s 3.1% expansion.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.