Asian Shares Mostly Lower As Tariff Concerns Linger

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 19 percent tariff on Indonesian exports under a new bilateral pact.

Indonesia has scrapped tariffs on U.S. goods and pledged billions in purchases to maintain access to its second-largest export market, it was said.

Analysts said the deal is heavily skewed in favor of the U.S., requiring significant trade-offs.

The 19 percent tariff is just below Vietnam's 20 percent and Bangladesh's 35 percent, two key rivals in major export sectors such as textiles, footwear and apparel.

The dollar pulled back slightly, and U.S. Treasury yields retreated after rising in the previous session as June U.S. CPI data showed early signs of tariff-linked inflation.

Gold inched higher on concerns surrounding Trump's tariff policy. Oil prices were steady as OPEC maintained oil-demand forecast for 2025 and 2026.

China's Shanghai Composite index finished marginally lower at 3,503.78. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gave up early gains to end 0.29 percent lower at 24,517.76.

Japanese stocks fluctuated before ending on a flat note due to U.S. tariff worries and uncertainty surrounding the elections to the upper house.

The Nikkei average finished marginally lower at 39,663.40 while the broader Topix index slipped 0.21 percent to 2,819.40.

Chip-related heavyweights continued to climb after the U.S. lifted export curbs to China. Advantest rose 0.6 percent and Tokyo Electron rallied 1.8 percent.

Toho soared nearly 11 percent after the creator of the "Godzilla" movie franchise raised its annual net profit forecast.

Seoul stocks fell notably amid diminished hopes for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. The Kospi average fell 0.90 percent to 3,186.38, with automaker Hyundai Motor and battery maker LG Energy Solution both falling around 1.7 percent.

Australian markets ended lower, dragged down by healthcare stocks after Trump indicated that pharma tariffs were likely by the end of July. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.79 percent to 8,561.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.66 percent lower at 8,816.40.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index rose 0.51 percent to 12,754.59, marking its second straight session of gains.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed after the release of in-line inflation data and mixed earnings from major banks.

Data showed U.S. CPI increased 0.3 percent sequentially in June, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.7 percent and matching consensus estimates. The so-called core CPI grew 0.2 percent month over month and 2.9 percent year-on-year.

On the earnings front, JPMorgan Chase beat profit estimates but a key profitability metric fell short of expectations.

While Citigroup beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit, Wells Fargo cut its full-year guidance for net interest income. Investing giant BlackRock said a large client pulled money during the second quarter.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up by 0.2 percent to reach a new record high as Nvidia said it would "soon" resume H20 AI chip sales to China. The S&P 500 eased 0.4 percent and the Dow lost 1 percent.