Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Thursday, breaking ranks with Wall Street as investors assessed U.S.-China trade developments.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.98% to close at 37,755.51, while the Topix lost 0.88% to end the trading day at 2,738.96. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.73% to close at 2,621.36 while the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.79% to close at 733.23.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.82%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 lost 0.87%. India’s Nifty 50 slipped 0.16%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 bucked the wider trend in the region to close 0.22% higher at 8,297.5.
“While markets have largely priced in peak tariff-related macro stress, we remain wary of a second wave of volatility, this time driven by fiscal policy uncertainty and weakening U.S. hard data,” Citi analysts said in a note.
U.S. stock futures slipped in overnight trading after the S&P 500 index rose for a third straight day. China and the U.S. hammered out a temporary suspension of their tit-for-tat tariff dispute earlier this week.
Overnight, the S&P 500 rose modestly, extending a strong start to the week that pushed the benchmark into the green for the year. The broad market index inched up 0.10% to close at 5,892.58, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.72% and ended at 19,146.81. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89.37 points, or 0.21%, to settle at 42,051.06.
source: www.maritime-executive.com
