Stock market today: Asian shares trade mixed after Wall Street slumps on Trump tariff worries

TOKYO: Asian shareswere trading mixed on Monday, as investors found bargains despite worries about US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 finished little changed, rising less than 0.1 per cent to 38,801.17. The Japanese government reported a record current account surplus last year of 29 trillion yen (USD 191 billion), underlining strong returns on overseas investments, boosted by a weak yen and recovering Japanese exports.

The current account data, seen as a wide indicator for trade, grew nearly 30 per cent from the previous year, to its highest since comparable records started being kept in 1985.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 151.85 Japanese yen from 151.39 yen. The euro cost USD 1.0322, down from USD 1.0328.

The Hang Seng index jumped 1.6 per cent to 21,474.18, and the Shanghai Composite added 0.6 per cent to 3,323.84, despite Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports.

Technology shares were among the gainers, as hopes grew for Chinese stimulus measures. China is retaliating with tariffs on select American imports and has announced an antitrust investigation into Google.

Trump said he would act Monday to apply 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from all countries into the US.

Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, believes markets are in for turbulence, noting Asian economies will feel the impact from the tariffs, including those on imports from Mexico and Canada.

Trump has given 30-day reprieves for tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada. But the newly announced 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports would apply to them.

“Asian markets are staring down the barrel of a volatile open,” he said, while noting some of the effects may have already been factored in.

South Korea's Kospi lost less than 0.1 per cent to 2,521.27. Australia's S and P/ASX 200 lost 0.3 per cent to 8,482.80.

Wall Street ended last week with the S and P 500 falling 0.9 per cent, although it remains near its record high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 444 points, or 1 per cent, and a sharp fall for Amazon after its latest profit report dragged the Nasdaq composite to a market-leading loss of 1.4 per cent.

Treasury yields also climbed in the bond market after a discouraging report on Friday morning suggested sentiment is unexpectedly souring among US consumers. The preliminary report from the University of Michigan said US consumers are expecting inflation in the year ahead to hit 4.3 per cent, the highest such forecast since 2023.

Expectations are growing that US tariffs on a wide range of imported products that Trump has proposed could ultimately push up prices for US consumers.

Markets are also watching for the latest earnings reports.

Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Corp. both report earnings on Thursday, as speculation grows their talks to set up a joint holding company may unravel. Japanese media reports, all citing unidentified sources, sent both stocks gyrating over the past week.

Amazon, one of Wall Street's most influential companies, topped analysts' expectations for earnings at the end of 2024, but its stock nevertheless fell 4.1 per cent.

Investors focused instead on its forecast for upcoming revenue, which fell short of analysts' expectations.

All told, the S and P 500 fell 57.58 points to 6,025.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 444.23 to 44,303.40, and the Nasdaq composite sank 268.59 to 19,523.40.

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.48 per cent last Friday from 4.44 per cent late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, rose more. It climbed to 4.28 per cent from 4.22 per cent.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude added 39 cents to USD 71.39 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 44 cents to USD 75.10 a barrel.