Kerry Craig of JP Morgan Asset Management said: “With some details on baseline tariffs only just becoming clear, and many of the details of the recently agreed ‘deals’ still to be ironed out, the risk is that inflation rates will continue to rise in the coming months.”
The latest developments on the trade front saw Trump announce a deal that sees 15 per cent tariffs on South Korean goods and a commitment from Seoul to invest US$350 billion in the United States.
He also said India was to face 25 per cent tolls, coupled with an unspecified penalty over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian weapons and energy.
And he signed an executive order implementing an additional 40 per cent tax on Brazilian products, as Trump lambasts what he calls Brazil’s “witch hunt” against his far-right ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro on coup charges.
Traders are keeping tabs on talks with other countries that are yet to sign deals with Washington ahead of Trump’s self-imposed Friday deadline.
After a broadly negative day on Wall Street, Asian markets struggled.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Manila, Wellington and Bangkok all fell, though Tokyo, Taipei and Jakarta edged up.
There was little movement in the yen after the Bank of Japan decided against hiking interest rates, while lifting economic growth and inflation costs. It also cautiously welcomed the country’s trade deal with the United States.
Traders had been given a healthy lead from the tech sector after titans Microsoft and Meta posted better-than-expected earnings, sending their stocks soaring in after-market trade.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/most-asian-markets-down-fed-holds-and-trump-announces-fresh-tariffs-5269011
