Asian Shares Mostly Lower On Renewed Tariff Worries

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at higher tariffs on certain countries after the July 9 deadline and Senate Republicans narrowly advanced his tax and spending bill, which risks $3tn deficit before Trump's term ends.

The U.S. dollar held near 3-1/2-year lows in Asian trade and gold edged down after two days of gains as investors awaited U.S. payroll data and assessed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's cautious stance on rate cuts. Oil prices held steady ahead of key OPEC+ decision on August output policy.

China's Shanghai Composite finished marginally lower at 3,454.79 as tech shares fell amid ongoing global trade tensions. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.62 percent to 24,221.41 as traders returned from a holiday.

Japanese markets ended lower after Trump criticized Japan's trade policies and threatened to raise import tariffs on the country to 30 or 35 percent.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump criticized Japan's reluctance to accept imports of U.S. rice, as well as the imbalance in auto trade between the two countries.

The Nikkei average fell 0.56 percent to 39,762.48 while the broader Topix index settled 0.21 percent lower at 2,826.04. Kawasaki Heavy Industries lost 5 percent and Konami Group Corp plunged 6.9 percent while Daikin Industries surged 4.6 percent.

Seoul stocks ended lower as investors took profits from recent gains. The Kospi average dropped 0.47 percent to 3,075.06, snapping a two-day winning streak.

While SK Hynix tumbled 2.3 percent, Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution and KB Financial surged 1-2 percent. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings jumped 4.4 percent to 288,000 won.

Australian markets advanced as higher commodity prices boosted miners. Real estate stocks also performed well due to expectations of interest-rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of Australia next week.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.66 percent to 8,597.70 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.65 percent higher at 8,828.70.

Airline Qantas fell 2.2 percent after it was hit by a significant cyberattack. Pizza chain operator Domino's Pizza Enterprises slumped 15.8 percent on news its group CEO Mark van Dyck is stepping down.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index edged up by 0.39 percent to 12,784.29.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as the Senate narrowly voted to approve President Donald Trump's massive tax cuts and spending bill and Fed Chair Jerome Powell once again reiterated the U.S. central bank plans to "wait and learn more" about the impact of tariffs on inflation before lowering rates.

Two-year Treasury yield rose to a near one-week high.as a measure of U.S. manufacturing activity improved in June and job openings increased unexpectedly in May.

The narrower Dow jumped 0.9 percent to reach its best closing level in over four months, while the S&P 500 slid 0.1 percent for its first loss in four days. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8 percent.