Asia report: Most markets rise as Trump announces reciprocal tariffs
Asia-Pacific markets ended Friday mostly higher as investors assessed the potential impact of a new reciprocal tariffs plan signed by US president Donald Trump.
While Wall Street gained overnight, reactions in the region were varied, with most indices advancing while others faced declines.
“Investors are expressing relief as Donald Trump's proposed reciprocal tariffs signal a potential opening for negotiations,” said TickMill market strategy partner Patrick Munnelly.
“Asian markets have also shown optimism, buoyed by Wall Street's positive interpretation of US inflation data, which suggests prices are aligning with the Federal Reserve's target range.
“Chinese tech stocks continued their upward climb, driven by the recent success of homegrown startup DeepSeek.”
Munnelly noted that Hong Kong's main index was nearing a four-month high, and was on course for its strongest weekly performance since September, marking a five-week winning streak - the longest since 2022.
“With an impressive 11% gain so far this year, the Hang Seng is emerging as Asia's top-performing major stock market and ranks among the best globally.”
Most markets rise after Wall Street’s overnight advance
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.79% to 39,149.43, pressured by sharp losses in individual stocks such as Otsuka Holdings, which plunged 9.8%, and Ricoh, which dropped 6.11%.
The broader Topix slipped 0.23% in Tokyo, to settle at 2,759.21.
Mainland China’s markets moved higher, with the Shanghai Composite gaining 0.43% to 3,346.72, led by strong performances from Anyuan Coal Industry Group and Raisecom Technology, both surging over 10%.
The Shenzhen Component outperformed with a 1.16% rise to 10,749.46.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index posted the largest regional gain, jumping 3.69% to 22,620.33.
Alibaba Health Information Technology soared 29.1%, while WuXi Biologics and WuXi AppTec advanced 11.75% and 9.96%, respectively.
South Korea’s Kospi 100 added 0.54% to 2,582.45, supported by a 12.42% surge in Doosan Enerbility.
Shares of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Samsung Life also saw strong gains, rising 9.34% and 7.33%, respectively.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.19% to 8,555.80, with notable gains from Temple & Webster Group, which climbed 11.77%.
Sigma Healthcare and Domain Holdings Australia also advanced more than 6%.
In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.64% to 12,989.18, led by a 3.25% gain in Fletcher Building.
In currency markets, the dollar was last down 0.18% on the yen, trading at JPY 152.53, as it weakened 0.32% against the Aussie to AUD 1.5778, and retreated 0.52% against the Kiwi, changing hands at NZD 1.7524.
Oil prices moved higher, with Brent crude futures last up 0.56% on ICE at $75.44 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate climbed 0.41% to $71.58.
Trump’s reciprocal tariffs in focus, Korean unemployment rate falls
US tariffs were once again at the top of the economic agenda, as president Donald Trump signed a memorandum overnight detailing a plan to impose reciprocal tariffs on foreign nations, aiming to counter what he deemed unfair trade practices.
The policy would allow Washington to levy tariffs equal to those imposed by other countries, including value-added taxes (VAT) and other non-tariff trade measures.
Trump said that foreign goods would not be able to enter the US through third-party countries to circumvent the tariffs, and hinted at additional duties on auto imports.
However, the plan would not take effect immediately.
Howard Lutnick, Trump's nominee for commerce secretary, would oversee studies to determine the appropriate tariff levels, with findings expected by 1 April.
In South Korea, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell to 2.9% in January, down from 3.7% in December, which had marked a three-year high.
Despite the decline, the number of unemployed people rose 1% year-on-year to just over 1.08 million, according to government data released on Friday.
The country’s economically active population increased by 0.5% from a year earlier, reaching 28.96 million.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.