Asian markets higher amid uncertainty over US tariffs
(5 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tokyo, Japan – 5 March 2025
1. Mid of Japan’s benchmark stock index Nikkei 225 displayed on board
2. Close of Nikkei 225 figures
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rintaro Nishimura, Political Analyst, Associate at Japan Practice of The Asia Group:
“There is a lot companies – US companies, but also companies, even like Toyota, Japanese makers who are making things in Mexico and Canada, and bringing those into the United States. I think, for those companies, or anyone looking into stocks for those companies, then you still have the possibility of not having to sell all of those, because then the risk isn’t as high. So I think there is this counter-balance now. Until yesterday, everyone was just saying ‘We’ve got to sell, we’ve got to sell’, but now it is like, ‘Oh maybe we don’t. Maybe we can keep things or even buy more.’ So I think that’s where there is this confusion going on right now with the market.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Seoul, South Korea – 5 March 2025
4. Various of dealing room at Hana Bank
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Taipei City, Taiwan – 5 March 2025
5. People walking past Taiwan Stock Exchange logo
6. Wide of ticker and welcome sign on ceiling
7. Various of Taiwan Stock Exchange index surging to 22,938.61 points shortly after opening at 22,596.88 points
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hong Kong – 5 March 2024
8. Electronic display showing benchmark Hang Seng Index up 244.88 points in early trade to 23,186.65 points
STORYLINE:
Asian shares and US futures were mostly higher Wednesday after a retreat on Wall Street wiped out all of the S&P 500’s post-U.S. election gains.
China announced it intends to keep its economy growing at around a 5% annual pace in 2025, in line with last year’s target, as it opened the annual session of its largely ceremonial legislature.
Premier Li Qiang also promised more government spending and other measures to support growth.
U.S. stocks tumbled after higher tariffs on imports from China, Canada and Mexico took effect on Tuesday.
Early Wednesday, the future for the S&P 500 gained 0.7% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index edged less than 0.1% higher to 37,356.44, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong surged 1.2% to 23,207.16.
The Shanghai Composite index was nearly unchanged at 3,324.16.
In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.7% to 2,546.03, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.2% to 8,100.60.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks racked up more losses on Wall Street as the trade war between the U.S. and its key trading partners escalated.
The Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday and doubled tariffs against imports from China by 20%.
All three countries announced retaliatory actions, sparking worries about a slowdown in the global economy.
The S&P 500 fell 1.2% to 5,778.15, with more than 80% of the stocks in the benchmark index closing lower. The Dow slid 1.6% to 42,520.99.
The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.4% to 18,285.16. The tech-heavy index briefly reached a 10% decline from its most recent closing high, which is what the market considers a correction, but gains for Nvidia, Microsoft and other tech heavyweights helped pare those losses.
Financial stocks were among the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 index. JPMorgan Chase fell 4% and Bank of America lost 6.3%.
Best Buy plunged 13.3% for the biggest drop among S&P 500 stocks after giving investors a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast and warning about tariff impacts.
Retaliations against the higher tariffs were swift.
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