Hong Kong (AFP) – Stocks mostly rose Friday in Asia, tracking records in New York and London, as investors absorbed US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff salvos amid optimism that most countries will strike a deal to avoid the worst of his levies. The US president has ramped up his trade war in the past week by firing off more than 20 letters to governments outlining new tolls if agreements aren’t reached by August 1. He has also said he would impose 50 percent tariffs on copper imports, while threatening 200 percent on pharmaceuticals, and hit Brazil with a new 50 percent charge.
Thursday saw him dial up the rhetoric by warning Canada faced a 35 percent tax, while most other countries would be handed blanket tariffs of up to 20 percent, from the current 10 percent. The moves are the latest by the White House in a campaign it says is aimed at ending decades of the United States being “ripped off.” “We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20 percent or 15 percent. We’ll work that out now,” Trump told NBC News.
“I think the tariffs have been very well-received. The stock market hit a new high today,” Trump added. However, while his initial bombshell announcement of tariffs on April 2 sent markets into turmoil, until he paused them for three months, the latest measures have had less impact. Analysts say traders now expect a deal or another delay, while investors appear to be waiting until a deal is done or the tariffs kick in.
All three main indexes on Wall Street rose Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting fresh peaks, hours after the FTSE in London had done so. And Asia largely followed the gains, with Hong Kong up more than one percent, with Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Manila, and Jakarta also in positive territory. There were small losses in Tokyo, Sydney, and Wellington.
Still, observers remain cautious. “Just as the market was catching its breath at new highs…President Trump tugged the rug again,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management. “His tariff doctrine is now fully weaponised — not merely to correct imbalances, but to assert dominion. Every letter sent to a trade partner is a chess move disguised as a slap,” Innes said. Khoon Goh, from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, expected “more risk aversion across Asia.” Investors will “pare back their positions ahead of the weekend, to avoid any whiplash that could occur next week on further tariff news over the next couple of days,” he said.
– Key figures at around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 39,593.84
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.6 percent at 24,413.74
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,530.11
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1684 from $1.1698 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3567 from $1.3576
Dollar/yen: UP at 146.74 yen from 146.19 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.12 pence from 86.16 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $67.08 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $69.09 per barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 44,650.64 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 1.2 percent at 8,975.66 (close)
© 2024 AFP
