By Marketwatch and Associated Press
Reuters
Asian markets were a mixed bag Monday as the latest round of tariff hikes in the U.S.-China trade war took effect.
U.S. tariffs on $112 billion of Chinese goods were raised from 10% to 15% effective Sunday, and China responded by raising tariffs on some U.S. goods. Additional tit-for-tat tariff hikes are scheduled to take effect Oct. 1 and Dec. 15. Many U.S. companies have warned that they will need to pass on the costs of the tariffs to consumers.
President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that “We can’t allow China to rip us off anymore as a country,” but said trade negotiations with China were still set to resume this month.
Earlier this weekend, the official gauge of China’s factory activity showed sluggish output for a fourth straight month. The manufacturing purchasing managers index edged down to 49.5 in August from 49.7 in July, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, lower than economists’ median forecast of 49.6, the Wall Street Journal reported. Readings below 50 indicate a contraction in factory activity.
Japan’s Nikkei /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK +0.74% slipped 0.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI +1.66% retreated 0.4%, as continued pro-democracy protests disrupted airport traffic. The Shanghai Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP +0.40% rose 0.7% while the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598015/delayed CN:399106 +0.22% jumped 1%. South Korea’s Kospi /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 +1.43% advanced 0.1%, while benchmark indexes in Taiwan /zigman2/quotes/210597977/delayed TW:Y9999 +0.76% , Singapore /zigman2/quotes/210597985/delayed SG:STI +1.64% and Indonesia /zigman2/quotes/210597981/delayed ID:JAKIDX +0.63% pulled back. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO +0.12% was down 0.1%.
Among individual stocks, e-commerce company Rakuten /zigman2/quotes/201861450/delayed JP:4755 -1.71% rose in Tokyo trading, while Mazda Motor /zigman2/quotes/204777714/delayed JP:7261 +5.85% and SoftBank /zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed JP:9984 +0.87% fell. In Hong Kong, Tencent /zigman2/quotes/204605823/delayed HK:700 -0.18% gained while Sino Land /zigman2/quotes/202960683/delayed HK:83 +3.22% and Sands China /zigman2/quotes/207609245/delayed HK:1928 +2.01% slid. Rio Tinto /zigman2/quotes/200083756/delayed AU:RIO +0.20% gained in Australia while Woodside Petroleum /zigman2/quotes/203437212/delayed AU:WPL +0.82% and Oil Search /zigman2/quotes/204702973/delayed AU:OSH +2.29% fell.
U.S. markets are closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
Add to watchlist
HK:HSI
Add to watchlist
CN:SHCOMP
Add to watchlist
CN:399106
Add to watchlist
KR:180721
Add to watchlist
TW:Y9999
Add to watchlist
ID:JAKIDX
Add to watchlist
JP:4755
Add to watchlist
JP:7261
Add to watchlist
JP:9984
Add to watchlist
HK:700
Add to watchlist
HK:83
Add to watchlist
HK:1928
Add to watchlist
AU:RIO
Add to watchlist
AU:WPL
Add to watchlist
AU:OSH
