Asian Shares Slide On Trade War Concerns

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10 percent universal tariff on most imported goods along with additional high tariffs on countries the U.S. considers "worst offenders" based on trade deficits and non-tariff barriers.

The move that marks one of the boldest protectionist pushes in recent history sparked concerns over inflation and growth.

The new reciprocal rate on China will be added to existing tariffs totaling 20 percent, meaning the true tariff rate on Beijing is 54 percent. Goods from India, South Korea and Australia face tariffs of 26 percent, 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged trading partners against taking retaliatory steps against the new set of tariffs. "As long as you don't retaliate this is the high end of the number," Bessent told Bloomberg Television.

The dollar slid broadly as the latest tariffs drove investors to safe havens such as bonds, the Japanese yen and gold, which touched a new record high.

Oil prices fell more than 3 percent on fears that a global trade war will curtail global economic growth and weigh on fuel demand.

China's Shanghai Composite index dipped 0.24 percent to 3,342.01 cutting early losses amid optimism that a possible increase in fiscal support and pro-business shift will offset trade headwinds from the U.S. An upbeat China Caixin Services PMI report also helped limit overall losses.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.52 percent to 22,849.81 amid escalating trade tensions. Tech giants like Alibaba and Baidu fell 5 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

Japanese markets led regional losses as tariff concerns and a stronger yen hit exporters. The Nikkei average plunged 2.77 percent to 34,735.93 while the broader Topix index settled 3.08 percent lower at 2,568.61. Nissan Motor, Toyota Motor, Canon, Sony and Panasonic lost 4-7 percent.

In the tech sector, Softbank tumbled 3.9 percent, Advantest gave up 4.5 percent and Tokyo Electron shed 3.7 percent.

Seoul stocks fell for a second consecutive session as the U.S. imposed higher-than-expected reciprocal tariffs on imports from Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The Kospi average ended 0.76 percent lower at 2,486.70 after hitting a two-month low earlier in the day. LG Energy Solution slumped 4.3 percent, Samsung Electronics lost 2 percent, S K Hynix declined 1.7 percent and Hyundai Motor dropped 1.3 percent.

Defense firm Hanwha Aerospace surged 5.1 percent on winning a 371.4-billion-won export deal from the Indian government.

Australian markets declined, with mining and tech stocks pacing the declines. Gold miners surged, helping limit losses in the broader market to some extent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.94 percent to 7,859.70 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed down 0.99 percent at 8,052.70.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index edged up by 0.15 percent to 12,338.57.

U.S. stocks recovered from an early slide to end higher overnight ahead of President Trump's tariffs announcement.

There was cheer on the economic front, with private sector employment rising more than expected in March and new orders for manufacturing goods increasing solidly in February.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.7 percent and the Dow rose 0.6 percent.