AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian markets plunged Friday following a sell-off in New York as Donald Trump sparked fresh trade war fears by imposing huge tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing unveiled its own measures against US goods.
The president announced levies on up to $60 billion of imports from China for what he describes as the “theft” of American intellectual property, fuelling speculation that a strong recovery in the world economy could be thrown off course.
Thursday’s announcement comes just weeks after the White House imposed stinging taxes on steel and aluminium products entering the US — causing equities to plunge-as Trump drives through with his America First protectionist agenda.
China responded by saying it was “not afraid of a trade war”, while it also released a list of potential tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods, from pork to fruits and wine and including some steel and aluminium goods.
The news boosted Chinese pork producers though Hong Kong-listed WH Group, which owns US giant Smithfield, plunged eight percent.
There was little positive reaction to the US saying late Thursday it would suspend duties on metals imports from the EU, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea.
Wall Street was sent spiralling by Thursday’s news with all three main indexes shedding between 2.4 percent and 2.9 percent.
And those losses filtered through to Asia. Tokyo was hammered 4.5 percent to hit a near six-month low, with exporters also hit by a surging yen, which is considered the go-to currency in times of turmoil and uncertainty.
The greenback fell below 105 yen for the first time since Trump was elected president in November 2016, while it was also down against the euro and pound.
Hong Kong collapsed 3.4 percent and Shanghai lost 4.2 percent, while Sydney sank two percent.
Hannah Anderson, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, warned: “The effects are likely to be felt more strongly in the US and increase both consumer and producer prices.
Asian markets plunged Friday following a sell-off in New York as Donald Trump sparked fresh trade war fears by imposing huge tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing unveiled its own measures against US goods.
The president announced levies on up to $60 billion of imports from China for what he describes as the “theft” of American intellectual property, fuelling speculation that a strong recovery in the world economy could be thrown off course.
Thursday’s announcement comes just weeks after the White House imposed stinging taxes on steel and aluminium products entering the US — causing equities to plunge-as Trump drives through with his America First protectionist agenda.
China responded by saying it was “not afraid of a trade war”, while it also released a list of potential tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods, from pork to fruits and wine and including some steel and aluminium goods.
The news boosted Chinese pork producers though Hong Kong-listed WH Group, which owns US giant Smithfield, plunged eight percent.
There was little positive reaction to the US saying late Thursday it would suspend duties on metals imports from the EU, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea.
Wall Street was sent spiralling by Thursday’s news with all three main indexes shedding between 2.4 percent and 2.9 percent.
And those losses filtered through to Asia. Tokyo was hammered 4.5 percent to hit a near six-month low, with exporters also hit by a surging yen, which is considered the go-to currency in times of turmoil and uncertainty.
The greenback fell below 105 yen for the first time since Trump was elected president in November 2016, while it was also down against the euro and pound.
Hong Kong collapsed 3.4 percent and Shanghai lost 4.2 percent, while Sydney sank two percent.
Hannah Anderson, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, warned: “The effects are likely to be felt more strongly in the US and increase both consumer and producer prices.
