Asia report: Markets slide as trade concerns weigh

Markets in Asia were mostly lower as they closed on Wednesday, as investors reacted to comments from US president Donald Trump that a much-anticipated trade deal with China could be delayed until after the 2020 federal elections.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.05% at 23,135.23, as the yen weakened 0.03% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 108.66.

Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing led the losses among the index’s major components, falling 5.21%, as Fanuc lost 1.52% and SoftBank Group rose 0.36%.

The broader Topix index slipped 0.2% in Tokyo trading, to finish its session at 1,703.27.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was 0.23% weaker at 2,878.12, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite went against the regional trend to rise 0.2% to 1,608.52.

China's unofficial Caixin services purchasing managers’ index climbed to 53.5 in November from 51.1 the month before, beating an anticipated reading of 51.2 and marking the fastest expansion since April.

“The index was due a bounce, though we hadn’t expected this much,” Pantheon Macroeconomics analyst Freya Beamish.

“The index is seasonally adjusted, but it’s very hard to gauge accurately the impact of events such as singles day, which are rapidly evolving each year.

“At the same time, the index is very volatile.”

South Korea’s Kospi was 0.73% lower at 2,068.89, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was off 1.25% at 26,062.56.

Both of the blue-chip technology stocks were lower in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics slipping 0.9% and chipmaker SK Hynix off 1.27%.

The losses for the latter were on the back of a sell-off among silicon stocks on Wall Street overnight, where Advanced Micro Devices, Micron and Nvidia all closed in the red.

Trade progress between the US and China remained at the fore of traders’ minds, with markets still hopeful that some sort of first phase deal could be reached between the two countries before a 15 December deadline set by Washington for new tariffs on imports from China.

Donald Trump poured cold water on those hopes on Tuesday, however, telling the press that he had no deadline to make a deal.

“In some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal, but they want to make a deal now and we will see whether or not the deal is going to be right,” the president said.

Oil prices were higher as the region went to bed, with Brent crude last up 1.97% at $62.04 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate up 1.79% at $57.12.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.58% to finish its trading day at 6,606.50, as major miner BHP dropped 2.49% in Sydney trading.

Fresh data out of Canberra showed that the Australian economy grew by a seasonally-adjusted 1.7% year-on-year for the quarter through September.

“The economy has continued to grow, however the rate of growth remains well below the long run average,” said the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ chief economist Bruce Hockman.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was off 0.2% at 11,209.87, led lower by fuel company Z Energy, which was down 2.6% ahead of the release of a report from the country’s competition regulator into petrol pricing, due on Thursday.

In its draft report, the Commerce Commission suggested petrol companies could be earning excessive returns in the country.

The down under dollars were a mixed picture against the greenback, with the Aussie last 0.15% weaker at AUD 1.4626, while the Kiwi strengthened 0.06% to NZD 1.5326.