Asian Shares Slump On Trade Worries

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks plummeted on Friday as traders grappled with underwhelming Nvidia Corp. results and U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariff threats.

China vowed to take "all necessary countermeasures and defend its legitimate rights and interests" after Trump said he would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports, intensifying a brewing trade war between the world's two largest economies.

The additional tariff will come into effect on Tuesday alongside sweeping 25 percent levies on Canadian and Mexican imports.

Traders also awaited the release of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the PCE price index, later in the day for additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory in 2025.

The dollar held gains from Thursday as concerns over a potential global trade war heightened.

Treasuries held steady in Asian trade after selling slightly at the long end of the curve Thursday. Gold dipped but was on track for a 2 percent monthly gain.

Oil prices headed for their first monthly drop since November on concerns that the U.S. trade war may hurt global growth, worsen inflation and possibly spark recessions in some countries.

China's Shanghai Composite index dipped 1.98 percent to 3,320.90 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng plummeted 3.28 percent to 22,941.32 on trade war fears.

Japanese markets plunged amid tariff concerns and after the release of mixed industrial production, retail sales and inflation readings.

The Nikkei average tumbled 2.88 percent to 37,155.50, marking a five-month low amid much uncertainty over how earnings of companies operating overseas would be affected by the U.S. tariff policies.

The broader Topix index settled 1.98 percent lower at 2,682.09, pressured by selling of semiconductor-linked shares such as Advantest, Tokyo Electron and SoftBank Group. Seoul stocks lost ground as a sharp decline in Nvidia shares on Wall Street overnight triggered heavy selling by foreign and institutional investors.

The Kospi average fell 3.39 percent to 2,532.78, with heavyweights including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and LG Energy Solution falling 3-5 percent.

Australian markets fell sharply, dragged down by technology and mining stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 1.16 percent to 8,172.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 1.20 percent lower at 8,403.90.

Star Entertainment shares plunged over 15 percent after the casino operator missed the deadline to post its half-yearly results and announced there are serious doubts about its ability to continue operating.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index rose 0.48 percent to 12,601.42, extending gains for a third straight session but logging its biggest monthly loss since 2023.

U.S. stocks tumbled overnight due to lukewarm response to Nvidia's earnings and rising concerns over tariffs and growth.

In economic releases, applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to the highest this year, pending sales of existing homes slumped to a record low in January and economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter while new orders for manufactured durable goods rose in January after two consecutive months of declines, separate set of data revealed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.8 percent to a nearly four-month closing low amid much uncertainty about the potential impact of policies coming out of the White House.

The S&P 500 and the Dow fell 1.6 percent and half a percent, respectively to reach one-month closing lows.