Asian markets open mostly negative amid trade protectionism concerns

Economies.com
2019-05-13 03:59AM UTC

Asian stocks opened the week on a mixed tone but mostly negative amid declines in Chinese, Japanese and Australian stocks as well as South Korea's Kospi, while New Zealand stocks rose on today's trading, which comes in conjunction with markets pricing for Beijing's response opportunities to Washington's commercial protectionism in recent times.

 

On Sunday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox News that US officials expect the Chinese to take revenge for the US $200 billion in tariffs raised by Donald Trump on Chinese goods and commodities imported to the US, which rose to 25% from 10% last Friday, bringing the number of Chinese goods subjected to the new tariffs to 25% or about $250 billion.

 

"We will see what they have reached," he said, adding that President Trump is expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, most likely during the G20 summit next month in Japan. He said the chances for the meeting are good, adding that "there are no specific plans" for the exact time to another meeting between US and Chinese negotiators.

 

This came hours after the end of the recent round of trade negotiations between the two countries and the lack an agreement after a Chinese delegation visit to Washington led by Vice Premier Liu He, who visited Washington last week for a trade deal or settlement to reduce trade protectionism pursued by Washington, as China in response stated that the United States bears full responsibility for the setbacks in the negotiations because it has raised tariffs.

 

Beijing has recently pledged to take the necessary countermeasures against tariffs without going into details, while President Trump chanted through his Twitter official account after the activation of the new tariffs, saying that he saw no need to rush in trade talks with China as the new tariffs benefit the US economy, saying that China pays 25% of the fees on goods supplied to his country estimated at $250 billion.

 

Trump said at the time that all the money goes to the US Treasury, and was followed by another tweet last Saturday that the U.S. is 'right where we want to be with China', adding that Beijing “broke the deal with us” and then sought to renegotiate, “We will be taking in Tens of Billions of Dollars in Tariffs from China," adding that "it would be wise for China to act now" to complement efforts and reach a business deal with America.

 

Japanese stock indices witnessed a decline during today's trading session, with the broader Topix index falling by 0.11% to lose 1.73 points down to the level of 1,547.69, Nikkei 225 index also fell 0.49% (105.41 points) to 21,239.51.

 

Chinese indices also saw a decline during the trading session, as CSI 300 index fell by 1.29% to lose 48.01 points down to 3,682.44, and the Shanghai composite index fell by 1.04% (30.71 points) to the level of 2,908.50.

 

South Korea's Kospi Index fell 1.06% (22.42 points) to 2,085.62, while New Zealand's NZX 50 rose 0.27% (26.88 points) to 10,126.25.

 

On the other hand, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.43% losing 27.15 points to 6,283.70.

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