Asian Shares Slide As US-China Trade Tensions Spike

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks fell sharply on Monday as the U.S. government shutdown entered its third week and trade tensions between the U.S. and China returned to the fore.

Regional markets fell across the board even as U.S. President Donald Trump posted conciliatory message about China tariffs on Truth Social after threatening 100 percent tariff.

As economic worries mount, investors also awaited corporate earnings reports from prominent U.S. companies and guidance from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Political and fiscal developments in Japan and Europe also kept investors on edge. Many world leaders, including Trump, are due to meet in Egypt today to discuss ceasefire plans for Gaza.

China's Shanghai Composite index ended down 0.19 percent at 3,889.50, recouping most early losses after China's foreign trade showed surprising strength in September, with both exports and imports beating forecasts.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped 1.52 percent to 25,889.48 on renewed Sino-U.S. trade tensions. Beijing on Sunday defended its latest export control measures on rare earths and related items as a response to U.S. aggression but stopped short of imposing new levies on U.S. products.

The Japanese markets were closed for National Sports Day after ending significantly lower on Friday.

Seoul stocks ended lower to snap a three-day winning run. The Kospi average dipped 0.72 percent to 3,584.55, with semiconductor-related shares pacing the declines.

Samsung Electronics fell 1.2 percent and SK Hynix lost 3 percent. LG Electronics rallied 2.5 percent after Q3 operating profit exceeded market expectations.

Australian markets declined amid U.S.-China trade tensions and disappointing business updates from the likes of Treasury Wine and Qantas.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.84 percent to 8,882.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.87 percent lower at 9,183.30.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended 0.86 percent lower at 13,351.92, marking its biggest single-day loss since late August.

The dollar held steady in Asian trade after sliding sharply in the previous session.

Gold hit a new record high at $4,078 an ounce while oil prices gained more than 1 percent after hitting five-month lows on Friday.

U.S. stocks plunged on Friday in a rout that wiped out $2 trillion in market value. Markets sank as President Trump accused China of "becoming very hostile" and threatened to impose an additional 100 percent tariffs on imports from China from November 1 against the country's expansion of export controls on rare earths.

Trump's tariff threat came after China added new port fees on American ships and launched an antitrust investigation into Qualcomm (QCOM).

Trump said he would no longer meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea, because "now there seems to be no reason to do so."

Also weighing on markets, a survey showed Americans are concerned about jobs prospects and high inflation.

The S&P 500 tumbled 2.7 percent in its largest sell-off since April, when the stock market was reeling from the shock of Trump's initial tariff announcement. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 3.6 percent and the narrower Dow slumped 1.9 percent.