Asian shares slump on fears of trade war between US, China
HONG KONG (AP) - Asian stock markets slumped Friday after Beijing responded to the Trump administration's tariff hikes by saying it may slap higher import duties on a range of U.S. goods, ratcheting up fears of a trade war.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged 3.8 percent to 20,765.74 and South Korea's Kospi tumbled 2.3 percent to 2,439.53. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 3.4 percent to 30,001.57 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China sank 2.9 percent to 3,169.19. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 skidded 1.9 percent to 5,824.50.
TRADE WAR: China unveiled a list of U.S. goods including pork, apples and steel pipe that it may hit with higher import duties in response to President Donald Trump's tariff hike on steel and aluminum. The Commerce Ministry urged Washington to negotiate a settlement, saying U.S. tariffs undermine the global trading system. Hours earlier, Trump set in motion a new round of sanctions that include tariffs on $48 billion worth of Chinese imports, which he said was in response to theft of American technology. The U.S. Trade Representative identified 1,300 product lines as potential targets, including aerospace, information and communication technology, and machinery, but further details were scant.
ANALYST INSIGHT: "Markets are looking immensely fragile today. Strap in as a tit-for-tat tariff tiff is about to start," said Stephen Innes, head of Asian trading at OANDA.
WALL STREET: The S&P 500 index skidded 2.5 percent to 2,643.69. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 2.9 percent to 23,957.89. The Nasdaq composite gave up 2.4 percent to 7,166.68.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 104.87 yen from 105.28 yen in late trading Thursday. The euro rose to $1.2332 from $1.2302.
ENERGY: Oil futures rallied. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 95 cents to $65.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract shed 87 cents, or 1.3 percent, to close at $64.30 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 92 cents to $69.30 a barrel in London.