Asian Shares Mostly Lower As Trump Ups Tariff Ante

(RTTNews) - Asian shares ended mostly lower in cautious trade on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods, effective August 1, 2025, and warned of a blanket tariff of 15-20 percent on most trading partners that haven't got letters yet.

Trump also said he would make an announcement regarding Russia, raising the prospect of more sanctions on the major oil producer.

The dollar, gold and oil all rose in Asian trade as Trump threatened to revive his trade war.

China's Shanghai Composite index gave up early gains to end on a flat note at 3,510.18.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.46 percent to 24,139.57, with EV and tech stocks surging on Beijing's stimulus pledge ahead of a highly anticipated Politburo meeting. Japanese markets gave up early gains to end lower. The Nikkei average dipped 0.19 percent to 39,569.68 while the broader Topix index settled 0.39 percent higher at 2,823.24.

Fast Retailing plunged 6.9 percent after the Uniqlo brand owner said it anticipates significant impact from higher U.S. tariffs later this year.

Technology and financial stocks rose, with Advantest, Tokyo Electron and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rising 1-2 percent. Air-conditioning maker Daikin Industries surged 5.4 percent.

Embattled automaker Nissan Motor advanced 1.6 percent after raising $4.5 billion through a junk-bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros.

Seoul stocks snapped a four-day winning streak, with defense and shipbuilding stocks coming under selling pressure.

The Kospi average ended down 0.23 percent at 3,175.77 after climbing above the 3,200-point level during intraday trading for the first time in nearly four years.

Australian markets ended slightly lower even as rare earth stocks soared on MP Materials' multibillion-dollar deal with the U.S. government to boost production of rare earth magnets.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.11 percent to 8,580.10 amid Trump's new tariff threats. The broader All Ordinaries index finished marginally lower at 8,820.30.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index fell 0.58 percent to 12,686.68 after a survey showed manufacturing activity in the country still remained in contraction in June.

U.S. stocks rose overnight as focus shifted to corporate earnings, with Delta Airlines forecasting third-quarter and full-year profits above Wall Street estimates.

Investors also cheered data that showed weekly jobless claims unexpectedly slipped to a seven-week low.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up marginally and the S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to post record closing highs while the Dow added 0.4 percent.