Asian shares battle as US-China tariffs darken global mood

Tokyo — Global stock prices fell on Monday after the US and China imposed new tariffs on each other’s goods, reinforcing investors’ worries over slowing global growth.

The E-mini futures for US S&P 500 fell as much as 1.06% in early trade and last stood down 0.39%.

Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.28%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.3%, led by a 0.5% drop in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng after another weekend of violent antigovernment protests.

But mainland Chinese shares fared better, with the CSI300 index rising 0.3% despite the trade row escalation.

China’s State Council said on Sunday it will increase adjustments of economic policy. A private survey showed on Monday that factory activity unexpectedly expanded in August, though gains were modest and contrasted with official data that pointed to further contraction.

Consumer goods

US President Donald Trump slapped 15% tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods on Sunday — including footwear, smartwatches and flatscreen televisions — while China imposed new duties on US crude, the latest escalation in a bruising trade war.

A variety of studies suggest the tariffs will cost US households up to $1,000 a year, with the latest round hitting a significant number of US consumer goods.

In retaliation, China started to impose additional tariffs on some of the US goods on a $75bn target list. Beijing did not specify the value of the goods that face higher tariffs from Sunday.

“So far Trump appears defiant though on the tariff hikes, blaming the Fed and American companies for their difficulties in dealing with the tariffs,” said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP in Sydney.

“There is a long way to go though, and re-establishing trust will be difficult after the experience since mid-last year [2018]. Share markets may still have to fall further to pressure Trump to resolve the issue.”

Market holiday

Many market players say the market’s reaction is likely exaggerated by algorithm-driven players’ flows in thin trading conditions at the start of Asian trade on Monday.

Liquidity could be even more limited than usual because of a US market holiday on Monday.

“[The market move] goes to show how many data-mining [algorithms] are involved with equity-linked, compared with forex-linked. Was anyone surprised by these tariffs that took effect yesterday?” said Takeo Kamai, head of execution at CLSA in Tokyo.

Tension is also running high in Hong Kong, with police and protesters clashing in some of the most intense violence since unrest erupted more than three months ago over concerns Beijing is undermining democratic freedoms in the territory.

Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public transport links to Hong Kong airport, and police made several arrests after demonstrators smashed CCTV cameras and lamps with metal poles and dismantled station turnstiles.

China, eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, has accused foreign powers, particularly the US and Britain, of fomenting the unrest.

Oil prices also fell on Monday.

Brent crude futures fell 0.49% to $58.96 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost 0.18% to $55.00.

In the currency market, the dollar dipped slightly against the yen to ¥106.12.

The euro stood almost flat at $1.09905, not far from two-year low of $1.0963 hit in US trade on Friday.

Reuters