AP – Stocks in Asia were mostly down yesterday, after United States (US) President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all US imports of steel and aluminium.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.06 per cent to 21,294.86, while the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.12 per cent to 3,318.06. Japan markets were closed for a national holiday. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia remained largely unchanged and South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.71 per cent to 2,539.05.
Early European trading held steady, with France’s CAC 40 down 0.05 per cent, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.02 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.05 per cent.
Trump said over the weekend he would announce 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, with more import duties to come later in the week.
Fear around tariffs has been at the centre of Wall Street’s moves recently, and experts say the market likely has more swings ahead. The price of gold, which often rises when investors are feeling nervous, climbed again on Monday to top USD2,930 per ounce and set another record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 82 points, about 0.18 per cent. The S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures respectively fell 0.28 per cent and 0.36 per cent.
But Trump has shown he can be just as quick to pull back on threats, like he did with 25 per cent tariffs he had announced on Canada and Mexico, suggesting they may be merely a negotiating chip rather than a true long-term policy.
Trump has pressed ahead with 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, while China has retaliated by imposing tariffs on US coal and liquefied natural gas products as well as crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars.
