Asian Shares Retreat As Trump Labels Zelenskyy A Dictator

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks retreated on Thursday as the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting revealed concerns over inflation risks and U.S. President Donald Trump's harsh criticism of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy heightened tensions in the ongoing conflict.

Trump called Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" after the latter said the U.S. president was "living in a disinformation space" governed by Moscow.

The Japanese yen hit its strongest level in over two months on BoJ rate hike bets and amid concerns about new tariff threats from Trump.

China's yuan got a lift after Trump said "it's possible" for the U.S. and China to have a new trade deal and that he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the United States, without giving a timeline for the trip.

Earlier in the day, China's central bank left benchmark lending rates unchanged, as widely expected.

Gold scaled a new record high on tariff concerns and amid uncertain outlooks for both global trade and inflation.

Oil prices fluctuated as investors weighed supply concerns against reports of rising crude inventories in the U.S.

China's Shanghai Composite index finished marginally lower at 3,350.78 after a choppy session.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 1.60 percent to 22,576.98 as real estate and tech stocks fell on Trump's tariff threats. Alibaba declined 2.2 percent and Baidu lost 3.1 percent.

Japanese markets fell sharply as the latest Fed meeting minutes revealed that the U.S. central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates.

The Nikkei average dipped 1.24 percent to 38,678. 04 while the broader Topix index settled 1.18 percent lower at 2,734.60.

A stronger yen weighed on exporters, with automakers Honda, Toyota and Nissan falling 1-3 percent. Tech conglomerate SoftBank declined 2.1 percent.

Seoul stocks ended lower, with shipbuilding, machinery, and power equipment stocks falling due to tariff pressures and budget cuts from the Donald Trump administration. The Kospi average fell 0.65 percent to 2,654.06.

Australian markets ended lower on fears of a less dovish RBA rate path. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.15 percent to 8,322.80, dragged down by banking and mining stocks. The broader All Ordinaries index closed down 1.12 percent at 8,601.70.

Rio Tinto fell 1.5 percent after the miner reported its smallest annual profit in five years. Smaller rival Fortescue Metals plummeted 6.2 percent on disappointing first-half results.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended 1.17 percent lower at 12,880.36.

U.S. stocks eked out modest gains overnight as investors scrutinized the Fed's January 28-29 policy meeting minutes and weighed the potential effect of President's Trump's tariff proposals on inflation and growth.

The latest FOMC meeting minutes revealed that officials want to see further progress on inflation before they consider resuming lowering interest rates.

Several remarked that policy could be eased if labor market conditions deteriorated, economic activity faltered, or inflation returned to 2 percent more quickly than anticipated.

The S&P 500 edged up by 0.2 percent to reach a new record closing high, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally higher and the Dow added 0.2 percent.