Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks succumbed to heavy selling pressure on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with China, saying that progress on a trade deal was moving too slowly.
Chinese shares fell as Trump’s fresh salvo in the yearlong trade spat extended tariffs to nearly all Chinese imports into the United States.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 40.93 points or 1.4 percent to 2,867.84, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plummeted 647.12 points or 2.4 percent at 26,918.58. The Chinese yuan hit its lowest level since November 2018 before paring some losses.
Japanese shares hit a six-week low as U.S.-China trade tensions flared up once again, raising fresh concerns about the outlook for the global economy.
The Nikkei 225 Index ended down 453.83 points or 2.1 percent at 21,087.16 after falling as low as 20,960.09, its weakest level since June 18. The broader Topix ended 2.2 percent lower at 1,533.46 amid selling across the board.
Shares with exposure to China were among the worst hit. Komatsu, Fanuc and Hitachi Construction Machinery gave up 2-5 percent. Market heavyweight SoftBank declined 2.5 percent and Fast Retailing shed 0.9 percent.
Exporters Canon, Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Sony and Panasonic lost 2-4 percent as the yen hit a more than one-month high against the dollar and multi-year peaks against antipodean currencies.
Apple supplier Sharp Corp. tumbled 13.7 percent after reporting a lower than expected quarterly operating profit, while Casio Computer jumped 8 percent on solid quarterly results.
On the data front, Bank of Japan policymakers discussed further easing as most members shared the view that it was appropriate to continue with the powerful monetary easing, the minutes of the monetary policy meeting held on June 19 and 20 showed.
“The key to overcoming deflation was for the Bank to maintain its stance of taking some kind of policy response if any changes emerged in the baseline scenario of the outlook for prices,” the minutes said.
Australian markets fell modestly as miners were rattled by a fresh threat from Trump to extend trade tariffs to nearly all Chinese imports. Gold mining companies surged on safe-haven buying, helping limit overall losses in the broader market.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 20.30 points or 0.3 percent to 6,768.60, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 25.80 points or 0.4 percent at 6,846.10.
Rio Tinto tumbled 3.1 percent despite delivering a record dividend payout and announcing its highest margins in a decade. BHP lost 3.7 percent and Fortescue Metals Group slumped 6.1 percent amid heightened trade war fears.
Gold miners Evolution, Newcrest and Resolute Mining soared 7-11 percent. GrainCorp, Australia’s largest bulk grain handler, plunged 5.4 percent after the company warned that it was likely to post a loss this year.
Lender ANZ shed 0.8 percent and NAB eased half a percent. Oil Search, Origin Energy, Santos and Woodside Petroleum declined 2-3 percent after crude oil prices plunged almost 8 percent overnight. Dairy processor Bega Cheese gave up 4.3 percent after cutting its full-year earnings outlook.
In economic news, Australian retail sales advanced 0.4 percent month-on-month in June, following a 0.1 percent rise in May, a government report showed. This was the fastest growth since February and better than the expected increase of 0.3 percent.
Seoul stocks fell sharply as Japan’s cabinet approved a plan to remove South Korea from a list of countries that enjoy minimum export controls. The benchmark Kospi ended down 19.21 points or 1 percent at 1,998.13.
SK Telecom rallied 3.3 percent. The telecommunications operator said its sales jumped 6.8 percent year-on-year to 4.4 trillion won in the April-June period, led by solid growth from its media business
