Dubai Telegraph - Asian markets mixed after latest Trump tariff threat

EUR -
AED 3.844084
AFN 76.916481
ALL 99.092401
AMD 411.846897
ANG 1.888849
AOA 958.77574
ARS 1110.715045
AUD 1.663224
AWG 1.886674
AZN 1.778173
BAM 1.95366
BBD 2.116102
BDT 127.330523
BGN 1.954731
BHD 0.394448
BIF 3104.129408
BMD 1.046698
BND 1.402877
BOB 7.242033
BRL 6.074826
BSD 1.048062
BTN 91.308545
BWP 14.446451
BYN 3.429759
BYR 20515.289648
BZD 2.105214
CAD 1.502195
CDF 3004.024864
CHF 0.938638
CLF 0.025706
CLP 986.45038
CNY 7.61593
CNH 7.613025
COP 4296.519204
CRC 530.029536
CUC 1.046698
CUP 27.737509
CVE 110.143823
CZK 24.935479
DJF 186.627352
DKK 7.458286
DOP 65.329063
DZD 141.170312
EGP 52.950276
ERN 15.700477
ETB 135.376203
FJD 2.41018
FKP 0.824558
GBP 0.826965
GEL 2.946425
GGP 0.824558
GHS 16.244129
GIP 0.824558
GMD 74.842813
GNF 9063.158846
GTQ 8.08011
GYD 219.258778
HKD 8.137657
HNL 26.796903
HRK 7.523906
HTG 137.129789
HUF 399.493337
IDR 17207.042187
ILS 3.724624
IMP 0.824558
INR 91.288695
IQD 1372.902687
IRR 44079.090394
ISK 145.49083
JEP 0.824558
JMD 165.070759
JOD 0.742637
JPY 156.309794
KES 135.341442
KGS 91.533868
KHR 4202.396714
KMF 492.474973
KPW 942.023427
KRW 1509.768302
KWD 0.322802
KYD 0.873348
KZT 524.408071
LAK 22751.187137
LBP 93715.355869
LKR 309.792135
LRD 209.079976
LSL 19.28287
LTL 3.090628
LVL 0.633137
LYD 5.112449
MAD 10.394564
MDL 19.545683
MGA 4945.677029
MKD 61.545783
MMK 2196.902098
MNT 3629.904388
MOP 8.391548
MRU 41.774639
MUR 48.598296
MVR 16.099799
MWK 1817.344015
MXN 21.382691
MYR 4.653617
MZN 66.894394
NAD 19.28287
NGN 1568.62429
NIO 38.568121
NOK 11.693244
NPR 146.095364
NZD 1.842634
OMR 0.40298
PAB 1.048047
PEN 3.857175
PGK 4.219459
PHP 60.617465
PKR 293.318705
PLN 4.139274
PYG 8302.984275
QAR 3.820796
RON 4.977014
RSD 117.171627
RUB 90.879154
RWF 1475.597735
SAR 3.925476
SBD 8.81528
SCR 15.057801
SDG 629.065774
SEK 11.162772
SGD 1.40368
SHP 0.831734
SLE 23.969496
SLL 21948.749078
SOS 598.949636
SRD 37.105471
STD 21664.544668
SVC 9.169999
SYP 13608.924292
SZL 19.291237
THB 35.489879
TJS 11.423332
TMT 3.663445
TND 3.31795
TOP 2.451475
TRY 38.158125
TTD 7.11524
TWD 34.363633
TZS 2715.135553
UAH 43.624448
UGX 3855.758002
USD 1.046698
UYU 44.750766
UZS 13498.214119
VES 67.156617
VND 26753.612418
VUV 128.98835
WST 2.954162
XAF 655.245507
XAG 0.032971
XAU 0.000362
XCD 2.828755
XDR 0.798341
XOF 655.245507
XPF 119.331742
YER 258.822347
ZAR 19.312387
ZMK 9421.540212
ZMW 29.685766
ZWL 337.036474
  • CMSD

    -0.0200

    23.65

    -0.08%

  • RBGPF

    67.1300

    67.13

    +100%

  • RELX

    -1.4500

    48.25

    -3.01%

  • BCC

    -2.3600

    104.07

    -2.27%

  • SCS

    -0.1100

    12.42

    -0.89%

  • NGG

    -0.1700

    62.56

    -0.27%

  • CMSC

    -0.0700

    23.58

    -0.3%

  • RIO

    -0.5300

    61.58

    -0.86%

  • GSK

    -0.9600

    37.4

    -2.57%

  • BTI

    0.3000

    38.86

    +0.77%

  • VOD

    -0.0500

    8.7

    -0.57%

  • BCE

    -0.5500

    23.36

    -2.35%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0200

    8

    -0.25%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    12.73

    -0.16%

  • AZN

    0.1200

    75.52

    +0.16%

  • BP

    -0.5500

    32.68

    -1.68%

Asian markets mixed after latest Trump tariff threat
Asian markets mixed after latest Trump tariff threat / Photo: Daniel ROLAND - AFP

Asian markets mixed after latest Trump tariff threat

Asian markets fluctuated Thursday as investors tried to assess US President Donald Trump's latest tariffs salvo, while earnings from chip titan Nvidia failed to impress, despite another record performance.

Text size:

Hong Kong was again the region's standout performer as the Hang Seng Index chalked up a 20 percent year-to-date gain -- pushing it above 24,000 points for the first time since 2022 -- thanks to another outstanding performance by Chinese tech giants.

However, traders soon took their cash off the table and left the HSI swinging in and out of positive territory, similar to scenes elsewhere in Asia.

The uneven start to the day came after Trump warned he would hit the European Union with 25 percent tariffs.

However, he caused some confusion over the timing and extent of other measures announced against Canada and Mexico, with analysts saying there was still some debate on whether he will delay implementation or water down his plans.

The threat against Brussels comes after the US president went back on the offensive over trade and signed a memo at the weekend calling for curbs on Chinese investments in industries including technology and critical infrastructure, healthcare and energy.

Still, economists at Schroders said they were optimistic that the White House's economic policies will be milder than Trump had espoused when running for president.

"Our 'Aggressive Trump' scenario, that assumes high trade tariffs and large deportations, would be stagflationary for the US economy and probably tip the rest of the world into recession," they said in a note.

"But upside risks are also emerging. DeepSeek could speed up the adoption of AI, macroeconomic reform has come back onto the agenda for governments desperate to find growth and bank lending shows signs of life," they added, referring to the Chinese startup that upended the AI universe with its chatbot last month.

"Steep falls in oil prices could also conceivably relieve inflation pressures later in 2025."

Asia started the day on a mixed note.

Hong Kong retreated as investors took a breather following a thundering start to the year, while there were also losses in Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Jakarta.

Tokyo rose, though 7-Eleven owner Seven & i tumbled as much as 12 percent after the convenience store giant said its founding family failed to put together a white-knight buyout.

The firm last year rejected an offer worth nearly $40 billion from Canadian rival Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) which would have been the biggest foreign buyout of a Japanese firm.

Sydney, Wellington and Manila also rose.

There was little spark from Nvidia's earnings, despite the firm reporting a record $39.3 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter and CEO Jensen Huang touting "amazing" interest in its latest Blackwell chip technology.

Traders are gearing up for a key meeting of Chinese leaders next week, when they are expected to hammer out their annual economic plan amid expectations they will again target five percent growth this year, the same as 2024.

"Policymakers tend to attach high importance to accomplishing this goal, and since targets were started in 1990, growth has only fallen notably short of target twice, in 1990 and 2022," said Lynn Song, chief China economist at ING.

"The strength of fiscal and monetary support tends to align with the year’s growth target, so a stronger target implies we will also see stronger stimulus measures and vice versa."

- Key figures around 0300 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 38,198.96 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 23,696.70

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,365.45

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0471 from $1.0480 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2661 from $1.2672

Dollar/yen: UP at 149.25 from 149.13 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 82.71 pence from 82.70 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $68.82 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $72.77 per barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 43,433.12 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 8,731.46 (close)

G.Rehman--DT