Asia report: Markets recover as White House hints at tariff exemptions
Markets in Asia managed to recover from declines seen in the previous session on Thursday, as fears of a trade war were somewhat eased after the White House said its planned punitive metals tariffs could potentially include some exemptions.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.54% at 21,368.07, as the yen held steady against the dollar, last trading at JPY 106.08.
Steel producers in the country largely held on to their gains, with JFE Holdings and Kobe Steel ahead 0.2% and 3.02% respectively, although Nisshin Steel finished down 0.36%.
The Topix iron and steel index was up 0.56%.
Technology plays were also higher in Tokyo, with video games giant Nintendo managing a 4.06% gain as markets closed.
Fourth quarter GDP was revised higher during the day to 1.6%, well above the official initial estimate of 0.5%, during the session.
The figure was also significantly higher than the 0.9% expected by economist polled by Reuters.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite added 0.54% to 3,289.29, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was 1.01% higher at 1,856.47.
Fresh official data showed exports from China rocketed ahead 44.5% year-on-year for February - well above the 13.6% Reuters-polled forecast.
South Korea’s Kospi finished up 1.3% at 2,433.08, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was ahead 1.52% at 30,654.52.
The Samsung Group was among the winners in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics rising 1.19% and Samsung Heavy surging 8.79%.
Steelmakers were also strong on the Korean peninsula on the prospect of US tariff exemptions, with Hyundai Steel adding 3.15% and Posco ahead 3.02%.
Trump’s trade plans, which so far feature punitive tariffs of up to 25% for all steel and aluminium imports, remained the main theme of the day among markets.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told media overnight that the tariffs could include “potential carve-outs”, apparently based on national security.
“The potential for more, rather than less tariffs for China and Europe, remains the key risk,” noted National Australia Bank senior foreign exchange strategist Rodrigo Catril.
President Trump is expected to sign off the tariff plans sometime this week.
Oil prices slipped towards the end of the session, with Brent crude last down 0.19% at $64.22 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate losing 0.07% to $61.11.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ended the day 0.69% above the waterline at 5,942.29, with most subindices in the green apart from energy and materials.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.9% to 8,358.70, led higher by infant food and dairy products exporter A2 Milk, which surged 4.9%.
Both of the down under dollars were 0.32% weaker against the greenback, with the Aussie last trading at AUD 1.2820 and the Kiwi retreating to NZD 1.3769.