Asia stocks sink on heightened US-China trade tensions
Most Asian stocks fell on Monday as fears of a U.S.-China trade war escalation grew after President Donald Trump accused China of violating a recent trade deal, which Beijing rebuked, News.az reports citing Investing.
Markets were also rattled by Trump hiking steel and aluminum import tariffs, which left investors uncertain over U.S. policy.
Increased military action between Russia and Ukraine, ahead of peace talks, also weighed on sentiment, while reports suggested that Washington was considering trade tariffs aimed at China and India to reduce their buying of Russian oil.
Regional markets fell in tandem with a decline in U.S. stock index futures, with S&P 500 Futures down 0.4%.
A market holiday in China saw Asian trading volumes trend slightly lower, although losses in Hong Kong stocks reflected souring sentiment towards Chinese assets. Weak purchasing managers index data released over the weekend added to this trade.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slumped 2.3%, with losses in major automakers, such as BYD (HK:1211), also weighing amid fears of a worsening price war in the sector. Hong Kong stocks were by far the worst performers in Asia on Monday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slid 1.5%, pressured by a stronger yen, while the TOPIX lost 1%.
Australia’s ASX 200 shed 0.2%, while Singapore’s Straits Times index lost 0.4%.
Gift Nifty 50 Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index fell 0.3%, pointing to a weak open. But losses are expected to be limited by substantially stronger-than-expected gross domestic product data released on Friday, which showed Indian economic growth remaining resilient in the March quarter.
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