The Asia-Pacific market was mixed on Wednesday after three Wall Street benchmarks were whipped about President Donald Trump’s tariff plans and uncertainty about recession in the world’s biggest economy.
The White House confirmed that a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum would come into effect from the provincial side on Wednesday to Canada and other countries, but added that Trump has no plans to raise tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50%.
Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 The index ended flat at 36,819.09, but the wider Topix index closed at 2,694.91%, up 0.91%.
Following the announcement that CEO Inno would resign from his position on April 1, automaker Nissan shares rose 0.61% in choppy trade.
The company was working with Honda Motor to create it by merging what was the world’s third largest automaker with each sale. Although discussions over this have ended, Honda reportedly is open to resuming merger talks after Uchida resigned.
Meanwhile, Honda’s stocks fell 0.14%.
Japan’s annual wholesale inflation rate reached 4% in February, slowing from a peak of 4.2% in the previous month’s seven months.
The latest reading is still well above the country’s 2% inflation target, with the Bank of Japan raising its bets to raise interest rates.
Nomura expects the central bank to “increase as a means of adjusting the degree of monetary easing at 25 basis points in July 2025 and January 2026.”
This follows expectations that “the noble cycle between wages and prices will be upwards,” an investment bank economist wrote in a memo on Wednesday.
Korea’s Kospi index rose 1.47% at 2,574.82, while the small Kosdaq advanced 1.11% until it finished at 729.49.
Hong Kong’s Hang Sen Index fell 1.36% in the final hour, while mainland China’s CSI 300 lost 0.36% and closed at 3,927.23.
China’s 10-year government bond yield is currently hovering at 1.918%, putting the edge to a 2% important psychological level. Meanwhile, the 30-year yield was 2.015%, after surpassing the 2% level on Monday.
Tech player Robosense was one of the top moves in the Hong Kong market, with stocks rising 18.28% at one point. Also, strong profits were seen at the gem chain Chow Tai Fook, which has advanced 7.15%.
Meanwhile, Australia’s losses S&P/ASX 200 We expanded to 1.32% to close the day at 7,786.20.
Elsewhere, India’s benchmark Nifty 50 fell 0.55%, while BSE Sensex fell 0.34% at 1:15pm local time.
Speaking at CNBC’s Converge Live, Ashish Chauhan, managing director and chief executive of the National Stock Exchange of India, noted that the South Asian powerhouse raised $19.2 billion in listings last year.
It was “the biggest in the world,” he said.
So far, Chauhan said the Indian market list “is not at the same speed and is still ongoing”.
“If the market comes in, we’ll see more IPOs (first public service) going on,” he added.
India is expected to announce its inflation counts later that day in February. Economists voted by Reuters expect it to be slower to 3.98% from 5.68% in January.
Overnight in the US, stocks slid stocks across the stock amid uncertainty over Trump’s proposed new tariffs that had been in liquidity throughout much of Tuesday. Trade policy uncertainty has brought benchmarks to the brink of revision. This is defined as a 10% reduction from that height.
The S&P 500 finished the session 0.76% lower, dropping to 5,572.07. At the lowest session on Tuesday, the index was 10% below the 10% where the record was closed. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 478.23 points (1.14%) at 41,433.48. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.18% and closed at 17,436.10.
The S&P 500 was on Green at one point during the trading session before Trump declared a true society that would double the Canadian steel and aluminum duties from 25% to 50%. The president moved in response to Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford’s additional fees on electricity exported to the US
“We hope for uncertainty to continue in the near future as the (Trump) administration continues to take aggressive policy measures to achieve its long-term goals,” said Tim Murray, Capital Markets strategist in T. Rowe Price’s multi-asset division.
These factors “will weigh growth and market sentiment and perhaps rekindle inflation,” he explained.
Still, Murray hopes the bonds will continue to “provide support.”
Looking ahead, he believes the US Federal Reserve and other central banks “will likely intervene to stabilize growth if the economy and labor market deteriorate more quickly.
CNBC will be holding its first thought leadership event, “Converge Live,” to be held in Singapore from March 12th to 13th, 2025. Here, global business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and key decision makers discuss the implications of innovation and growth by collaborating and sharing ideas across the industry.
Viewers can watch the event livestream and hear from speakers including Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Kim Yong-gan, Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai, Bridgewater Associates founder Raydario, Salesforce CEO, chairman and co-founder Mark Benioff.
– Lisa Kailai Han and Sean Conlon of CNBC contributed to this report.
