Classic Chinese courtyard featuring a stage and red lanterns hanging
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Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street rose overnight, shrugging off Trump tariffs and China’s retaliatory measures.
All eyes are on China, which resumed trading after the Lunar New Year holidays and as the Chinese government announced tariffs on U.S. imports in retaliation to duties on its exports.
Morningstar’s Asia equity analyst Kai Wang, says China’s tariffs on the U.S. are “largely symbolic given that only about 12% of total imports from the U.S. would be subject to tariffs.”
“A key takeaway from this development, at least for now, is that fundamentally there is less risk implied than expected before. However, escalation of the trade war remains a risk given Trump’s history of unpredictable behavior. Therefore, the volatility risk remains on the table for the next four years at least,” Wang wrote in a note Tuesday.
Mainland China’s CSI300 Index started the day up, but reversed course to drop 0.27%.
China’s Caixin Services PMI came in at 51.0 in January, compared with December’s 52.2 reading, showing a slowdown in the country’s services activity.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.69%, reversing from gains in the previous session.
Japan benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.12%, while the broader Topix index was flat.
South Korea’s Kospi rose1.16% and the small-cap Kosdaq was up 1.31%.
The country’s consumer price index for January rose 0.7% month on month and 2.2% annually — more than Reuters’ 1.97% estimate.
Indian stocks climbed as the Reserve Bank of India holds its first monetary policy meeting under the new central bank governor, with investors expecting a rate cut when the meeting concludes on Friday.
The benchmark Nifty 50 was up 0.11%, while the BSE Sensex index advanced 0.15%.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.61% higher.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
