Asian Shares Mixed Amid Trump's Tariff Threats

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with mainland Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rising, after U.S. President Donald Trump said reciprocal duties that are set to be announced next week will be "very lenient," and that tariffs on China could be reduced to facilitate a deal on the sale of ByteDance Ltd.'s social video platform TikTok to an American company.

A cautious undertone prevailed elsewhere in the region after Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on auto imports to boost domestic manufacturing.

Gold ticked higher on safe-haven demand while oil prices dipped after rising on Wednesday, buoyed by data showing a decline in U.S. inventories and renewed efforts from the U.S. to limit Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports.

China's Composite index edged up by 0.15 percent to 3,373.75 as Trump's comments about TikTok suggested there is room for negotiations.

Additionally, Chinese industrial companies' profits declined at the start of the year but showed some signs of improvement.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 0.41 percent to close at 23,578.80. Chinese automakers, which have limited exposure to the U.S. markets rose, with EV giant BYD surging 2.8 percent.

Japanese markets ended notably lower as automakers plunged on Trump's tariff announcement.

The Nikkei average fell 0.60 percent to 37,799.97 while the broader Topix index settled marginally higher at 2,815.47. Toyota Motor and Honda both fell over 2 percent while Mazda Motor plummeted 6 percent and Subaru lost 5 percent.

Seoul stocks tumbled, with the Kospi average falling 1.39 percent to 2,607.17 on U.S. trade policy concerns.

Hyundai Motor slumped 4.3 percent and its affiliate Kia Corp declined 3.5 percent. Semiconductor stocks also fell, with SK Hynix falling 3.3 percent as news of U.S. restrictions on advanced semiconductors from China emerged.

Australian markets ended lower to snap a five-session winning streak, with technology stocks bearing the brunt of the selling.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.38 percent to 7,969 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.48 percent lower at 8,185.50.

WiseTech Global fell over 2 percent and NEXTDC plunged 6.5 percent. Discount chain Reject Shop soared 109.5 percent following a $259m takeover bid from Canadian retailer Dollarama.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index slid 0.23 percent to 12,305.79.

Overnight, U.S. stocks snapped a three-session winning streak and the dollar resumed its ascent as investors fretted about the economic impact of a tariff war.

Sentiment was also dented by a warning from the Congressional Budget Office that the Treasury risks a payment default in August unless Congress raises the debt ceiling.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 2 percent on doubts over artificial intelligence demand, while the S&P 500 shed 1.1 percent and the Dow eased 0.3 percent.