AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian markets mostly tumbled Tuesday, with concerns about European elections and Donald Trump’s unpredictable presidency fuelling uncertainty.
With investor nerves shredded by a succession of outbursts from the new US president, safe-haven assets are on the rise, with the yen surging to three-month highs against the dollar and gold pushing higher.
The weakness across markets is in contrast to the two-month rally that followed Trump’s election win in November, when dealers bet his big-spending, tax-cutting plans would fan US growth and inflation, forcing interest rates up.
Tokyo’s Nikkei ended the morning session 0.5 percent lower as the stronger yen hit exporters. The greenback was hovering around 111.70 yen and has about five percent this year.
The Japanese unit has surged against the dollar, clawing back most of the losses seen since Trump’s November election, after he accused Tokyo and Beijing of currency manipulation to get a trade advantage over the US.
Japan’s former vice minister of finance for international affairs Eisuke Sakakibara said this week that Trump’s desire to boost US jobs means he must boost exports.
“In order to do so, Trump is leaning to a weak dollar policy by, for example, criticising Japan for adopting weak yen policy,” Sakakibara, who has predicted the dollar to fall below 100 yen, said.
