Asian Markets Track Wall Street Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with markets in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Indonesia tumbling as traders react to US President Donald Trump's confirmation that tariffs on Mexico and Canada would proceed next week, along with an additional 10 percent tariff on China. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

Trump clarified that previously paused 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will go into effect on March 4. He said an additional 10 percent tariff on imports from China will also be imposed on that date, on top of the 10% tariff also introduced earlier this month.

He claimed drugs are pouring into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada and that a large percentage of these drugs are supplied by China.

The president also said in a Truth Social post that the April 2 date for reciprocal tariffs on other U.S. trade partners will "remain in full force and effect."

The Australian stock market is significantly lower on Friday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to be just above the 8,200 level, with weakness across most sectors led by miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 57.30 points or 0.69 percent to 8,210.90, after hitting a low of 8,186.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 61.50 points or 0.72 percent to 8,444.60. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are declining more than 2 percent each, while BHP Group is losing almost 2 percent and Mineral Resources is slipping almost 6 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is edging up 0.4 percent, while Beach energy is edging down 0.4 percent. Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are flat.

Among tech stocks, Xero is declining almost 3 percent, Zip is slipping almost 4 percent, WiseTech Global is down more than 3 percent and Appen is tumbling almost 12 percent. Afterpay-owner Block is edging up 0.2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.2 percent each. Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining are down almost 3 percent each, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are declining more than 2 percent each. Evolution Mining is losing more than 3 percent.

In other news, shares in Star Entertainment are plummeting almost 18 percent after the casino operator said it is not sure if it can continue to trade beyond Friday, claiming a range of conditions need to be met to continue to be operational. Shares in Endeavour Group are tumbling more than 6 percent after its interim profit fell 15.1 percent, driving the retailer and hotel operator to lower its dividend by 12.6 percent.

Shares in Vista Group are soaring more than 13 percent after the data analytics provider reported upbeat earnings for 2024, as a jump in clients transitioning to its cloud solutions.

In economic news, Total credit in Australia was up 0.5 percent on month and 6.5 percent on year in January, the Reserve Bank of Australia said on Friday. Housing credit was up 0.4 percent on month and 5.6 percent on year, while personal credit was flat on month and up 2.2 percent on year and business credit climbed 0.7 percent on month and 8.8 percent on year. Broad money was up 0.3 percent on month and 5.2 percent on year.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.622 on Friday.

Reversing the gains in the previous session, the Japanese market is sharply lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is tumbling 2.6 percent to well below the 37,300 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 37,182.09, down 1,074.08 points or 2.81 percent, after hitting a low of 37,074.70 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing more than 2 percent and Honda is down almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is plunging almost 9 percent, Tokyo Electron is tumbling more than 5 percent and Screen Holdings is declining almost 6 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are losing almost 2 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is declining more than 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are losing almost 3 percent each, while Panasonic is down almost 2 percent and Canon is declining more than 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Disco is plummeting more than 11 percent and Fujikura is plunging more than 9 percent, while Lasertec and Furukawa Electric are tumbling more than 6 percent each. Socionext, Hitachi and Sumco are declining more than 5 percent each, while TDK, Recruit Holdings and Renesas Electronics are losing more than 4 percent each. Nomura Research Instituteis down almost 4 percent.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers.

In economic news, Industrial output in Japan dropped a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent on month in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry or METI, said on Friday. That was shy of expectations for a decline of 1.0 percent following the 0.2 percent loss in December. On a yearly basis, industrial production was up 2.6 percent.

The METI also said that the value of retail sales in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent on month in January, coming in at 13.623 billion yen. That was in line with expectations following the 0.8 percent decline in December. On a yearly basis, sales were up 3.9 percent - again matching forecasts and up from 3.5 percent in the previous month.

Meanwhile, overall inflation in the Tokyo region was up 2.9 percent on year in February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said - easing from 3.4 percent in January. Tokyo's core CPI was up an annual 2.2 percent, moderating from 2.5 percent in the previous month.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 149 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Indonesia are tumbling between 1.5 and 2.8 percent each, while Singapore and Malaysia are edging down 0.5 percent each. New Zealand is relatively flat. Taiwan is closed for Peace Memorial Day.

On Wall Street, stocks once again failed to sustain an early upward move and came under pressure over the course of the trading day on Thursday. Unlike the previous session, however, the major averages extended the pullback as the day progressed, closing sharply lower.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a particularly steep loss, plunging 530.84 points or 2.8 percent to a nearly four-month closing low of 18,544.41. The S&P 500 also slumped 94.49 points or 1.6 percent to a one-month closing low of 5,861.57, while the narrower Dow fell 193.62 points or 0.5 percent to a one-month closing low of 43,239.50.

The major European markets also showed strong moves to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index slumped by 1.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.5 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the downtrend and increased by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday as the U.S. decision to revoke Chevron Corporation's license to operate in Venezuela raised supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $1.73 or 2.52 percent at $70.35 a barrel.