Asian shares mostly decline as uncertainty grows about whats next with Trumps tariffs
Asian shares were mostly lower Friday as uncertainty grew about what will happen next after a US court blocked many of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.1% in afternoon trading to 38,022.62.Government data showed Tokyo core inflation, excluding fresh food, rising to a higher-than-expected 3.6% in May.
Some analysts say that makes it more likely the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 8,436.30.South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.9% to 2,696.40, ahead of a presidential election set for next week.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.4% to 23,234.42, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 3,354.83.On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 117 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%.It’s a downshift after stocks initially leaped nearly 2% in Tokyo and Seoul, where markets had the first chance to react to the ruling late Wednesday by the US Court of International Trade.
The court said that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act that Trump cited for ordering massive increases in taxes on imports from around the world does not authorize the use of tariffs.The ruling at first raised hopes in financial markets that a hamstrung Trump would not be able to drive the economy into a recession with his tariffs, which had threatened to grind down on global trade and raise prices for consumers already sick of high inflation.But the tariffs remain in place for now while the White House appeals the ruling, and the ultimate outcome is still uncertain.The court’s ruling also affects only some of Trump’s tariffs, not those on foreign steel, aluminum and autos, which were invoked under a different law.The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday allowed the president to temporarily continue collecting the tariffs under the emergency powers law while he appeals the trade court’s decision.Tru...