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Asian markets fell in early trading Wednesday after President Donald Trump offered no new details about progress toward a trade deal between the U.S. and China.
In a speech in New York on Tuesday, Trump repeated his claim that a deal “could happen soon,” but added no specifics. Tariffs appear to be the sticking point, and Trump again threatened that “if we don’t make a deal, we’re going to substantially raise the tariffs.” Trump also raged against the Fed for not cutting rates as fast as he wanted, and touted U.S. economic data.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -0.83% fell 0.8% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, -1.76% slid 1.7%. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -0.15% edged down 0.2% and the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite 399106, +0.11% inched up 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi 180721, -0.87% dipped 0.9% while benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y9999, -0.40% , Singapore STI, -0.61% and Indonesia JAKIDX, -0.14% declined. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.52% dropped 0.5%, and New Zealand’s NZX-50 NZ50GR, -0.83% fell slightly after the country’s central bank unexpectedly kept its official cash rate unchanged.
Among individual stocks, Nissan 7201, -0.97% fell in Tokyo trading after reporting a 70% plunge in operating income from the previous year, and lowering its revenue and profit outlook. Fast Retailing 9983, -1.59% and Inpex 1605, -1.69% also declined. In Hong Kong, real estate stocks such as New World Development 17, -5.09% , Wharf Real Estate 1997, -3.53% and Sino Land Co. 83, -3.72% were hammered as violent protests continued. LG Electronics 066570, -1.16% pulled back in South Korea, and Foxconn 2354, -1.20% dipped in Taiwan. Beach Energy BPT, -4.90% tumbled in Australia.
