Stocks declined in Asia on Friday as traders mulled new developments in US President Donald Trump’s trade dispute.
Japanese shares retreated, while shares in South Korea, Hong Kong and China fluctuated.
In Taipei, the TAIEX closed up 115.50 points, or 1.11 percent, at 10,498.49, up 1.7 percent for the week.
Hong Kong stocks on Friday ended at a four-month low, capping their worst month since October last year, as a collapse in trade talks between Beijing and Washington dented investor confidence and triggered economic slowdown fears.
The Hang Seng index ended down 0.8 percent at 26,901.09 points, piercing through the 27,000-point level seen by some as providing technical support.
The China Enterprises Index (HSCE) lost 0.6 percent to 10,387.17 points.
For the month, Hang Seng tumbled 9.4 percent and HSCE slumped 10 percent.
Trade tensions between Beijing and Washington rapidly worsened last month, after Trump accused China of reneging on earlier promises in trade talks, and increased tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods, triggering retaliation from China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Trump counterpart are likely to find it “difficult” to make major progress toward ending their countries’ trade spat when they meet at a G20 summit in Japan this month, former People’s Bank of China governor Dai Xianglong (戴相龍) said on Friday.
“We are seeing a Trump who is going all-out,” said Kay Van-Petersen, global macro strategist at Saxo Capital Markets Pte. “This raises the bar not just for Mexico and Canada, but also for China.”
Trump’s Mexico declaration and plans from China to push back on rare earths leave markets set for a turbulent end to what has been a rough month for global equities, which are down the most since December last year.
Speaking before the Mexico tariff news, US Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida said the US central bank is prepared to ease monetary policy if it sees mounting risks to the US expansion.
He said the economy was in a “very good place,” with unemployment low and inflation muted.
Torsten Slok, an economist at Deutsche Bank AG, called the Mexico tariffs a “serious risk to the outlook” given the integration of supply chains — especially in the auto industry — across the US-Mexico border.
The possibility that Beijing might cut exports of rare-earth minerals, along with signs that US-EU talks are not going anywhere meaningful, have added to the negative sentiment.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index was 152.36 on Friday, down 0.5 percent from last week’s 153.20.
Japan’s TOPIX on Friday fell 1.3 percent.
South Korea’s KOSPI was little changed.
Additional reporting by CNA
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