Asia stocks declined on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods if the two economic powerhouses do not strike a deal.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 ditched 144.08 points, or 0.6%, to 23,148.57. On Wednesday, Japanese merchandise trade data for October from the Ministry of Finance showed exports for the month fell 9.2% year-on-year — well off the 7.6% year-on-year decline expected by economists in a survey.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.53 per U.S. dollar after touching lows around 108.8 yesterday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 204.19 points, or 0.8%, to 26,889.61
Korean markets declined as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics dropped 2.8%, and chipmaker SK Hynix slid 3.1%
Shares of Australia’s so-called Big Four banks declined: Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 1.3%, Westpac dropped 3.3%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group shed 2.1% and National Australia Bank slipped 3.1%.
The moves in the sector came after Australia’s anti money-laundering and terrorism financing regulator filed for civil penalty orders against Westpac.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6816 after rising from levels around $0.679 in the previous trading day.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 39.18 points, or 1%, to 3,907.86
The People’s Bank of China released its new loan prime rates earlier on Wednesday. The one-year loan prime rate was cut by 0.05% from a month earlier to 4.15%, while the five-year rate fell to 4.8%, also by 0.05%.
Trump said Tuesday he would “just raise the tariffs even higher” on Chinese goods if a deal between Washington and Beijing is not reached. Media reports earlier in the week, citing a government source, said that China is pessimistic about the trade deal. That is reportedly due to differing views on the cancellation of tariffs.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex faded 25.2 points, or 0.2%, to 11,631.20
In Korea, the Kospi dropped 27.92 points, or 1.3%, to 2,125.32
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index slumped 9.04 points, or 0.3%, to 3,229.78
In New Zealand, the NZX gained 83.25 points, or 0.8%, to 10,925.49
In Australia, the ASX 200 swooned 91.8 points, or 1.4%, to 6,722.42