Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Tuesday, as investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalatory rhetoric on tariffs and assessed his move to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Trump reportedly warned of “200% tariffs or something” on China if it does not export rare-earth magnets to the U.S, while also threatening levies on countries that do not remove digital taxes and related regulations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led losses in the region. The benchmark dropped 1.18% to end the day at 25,524.92, while mainland China’s CSI 300 moved down 0.37% to 4,452.59, snapping its four-day winning streak.
Investors also assessed the meeting between South Korean and U.S. presidents over fleshing out the trade deal announced last month that stipulated 15% tariffs on the Asian country’s exports to the U.S.
The Kospi index closed 0.95% lower at 3,179.36, while the small-cap Kosdaq was up 0.46% to 801.66.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined by 0.97% to 42,394.40 while the broader Topix index fell 1.08% to 3,071.99.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 benchmark dropped 0.41% to 8,935.60.
Over in India, the benchmark Nifty 50 declined by 0.66%, while the BSE Sensex index lost 0.65% as of 2 p.m. Indian Standard Time (4:30 a.m. ET).
U.S. equity futures fell, as investors await Nvidia‘s earnings and the reading of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
Overnight stateside, all three key benchmarks fell, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 0.22% at 21,449.29. The broad market S&P 500 traded 0.43% lower to settle at 6,439.32, while the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 349.27 points, or 0.77%, at 45,282.47.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC