Asia report: Most markets higher even as Trump hikes tariffs

Markets in Asia were mostly higher on Friday, as investors remained upbeat even after Washington made good on its promise to hike tariffs on Chinese goods overnight.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.27% at 21,344.92, as the yen weakened 0.05% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 109.80.

Of the major components on the Tokyo benchmark, automation specialist Fanuc was ahead 0.79% and fashion group Fast Retailing added 0.66%, while technology conglomerate SoftBank Group fell 5.41% by the end of trading.

The broader Topix index was down 0.08% at 1,549.42.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite surged 3.1% to 2,939.21, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite leapt 3.83% to 1,568.62.

South Korea’s Kospi was ahead 0.29% at 2,108.04, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong added 0.84% to 28,550.24.

The blue-chip technology stocks were mixed in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics up 1.06% and chipmaker SK Hynix down 2.11%.

After a week of threats, the US carried out its promise to raise tariffs on Chinese goods at midnight, upping the charge on $200bn of imports to 25% from 10%.

Beijing responded by saying it “deeply regrets” the tariff increase, although it supplied no further details.

Chinese vice-premier Liu He was in Washington on Friday for ongoing trade negotiations with the US administration.

He was, however, not carrying the title of ‘special envoy’ for president Xi Jinping, which many took as a suggestion his authority to make concessions may have been diminished.

“It was reported that Chinese state-backed funds have been propping up the Chinese stock market in an effort to save face, and European markets have rallied too,” said CMC Markets market analyst David Madden.

“If, or when, the Chinese funds stop snapping up stocks, then we get a true picture of global sentiment.”

Oil prices were higher as the region entered the weekend, with Brent crude last up 0.68% at $70.87 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate 0.37% higher at $62.02.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 managed gains of 0.25% to 6,310.90, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 lost 0.05% to settle at 10,099.37.

Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.08% at AUD 1.4296, and the Kiwi advancing 0.13% to NZD 1.5155.