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Asia-Pacific markets traded lower Tuesday after Wall Street fell overnight as tariff threats by U.S. President Donald Trump stoked a risk-off mood, while investors also assessed the rate decision by the Bank of Korea.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 led losses in the region, down more than 1%, while the Topix fell 0.32%. Japan’s major trading houses, however, logged sharp gains on Warren Buffett’s plans to increase Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in the conglomerates.
South Korea’s Kospi traded 0.47% lower while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.54%.
South Korea’s central bank expectedly cut rates to 2.75% from 3%, as it strives to stimulate a slowing economy. The Korean won marginally weakened to 1,430.1 against the dollar.
South Korea has been facing political uncertainty, stemming from the impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.95% while mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.81% amid escalating trade tensions with the U.S. The Hang Seng Tech index pared losses to trade flat.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.68% to close at 8,251.9.
Overnight in the U.S., the markets failed to spring back from last Friday’s sell-off. The broad market index lost 0.5%, closing at 5,983.25. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.21%, ending the session at 19,286.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 33.19 points, or 0.08%, to close at 43,461.21.
Ongoing concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with key trading partners continued to weigh on market sentiment. Trump on Monday declared that tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be implemented once the one-month delay period concludes next week.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
