SINGAPORE – Chinese shares fell sharply on Tuesday afternoon, as investors weighed in on a possible thawing of US-China trade ties after the US President Joe Biden The idea of cutting tariffs on Chinese goods arose.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed earlier losses down 1.75% at 20,112.1, while the Hang Seng Tec index fell more than 3%. Ali Baba was down 2% while Tencent There has been a decline of 2.48%.
electric vehicle manufacturer shares Xpeng It fell more than 9% after reporting on Monday that its first-quarter net loss rose to 1.7 billion yuan ($254.7 million) from 786.6 million yuan a year earlier.
The Shanghai Composite ended 2.41% lower at 3,070.93, while the Shenzhen Component fell 3.34% to 11,065.92.
in japan, Nikkei 225 It closed 0.94% lower at 26,748.14, while Topix ended 0.86% lower at 1,878.26.
Japan’s Manufacturing Activity for Mayo Slowest growth in three monthsAccording to Reuters, production slowed due to supply constraints.
in corporate news, Toyota Motor It said on Tuesday it would cut global output by about 100,000 to 850,000 in June due to semiconductor shortages. Shares of the Japanese automaker were down 0.56%.
South Korea’s Kospi ended 1.57% lower at 2,605.87. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.28% to 7,128.80.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.3%.
Markets were taking the news as a sign of a possible thawing of US-China trade tensions, although this is not the first time that tariffs have been cut.
Taylor Nugent
Economist, National Australia Bank
US markets gave some relief to investors Shares rise after a week of sharp losses, During Monday’s regular trading session, the Dow rose 618 points, or nearly 2%, the S&P 500 1.9% and the Nasdaq Composite 1.6%.
Feeling like it’s boosted After US President Joe Biden said he was Considering cutting US tariffs on Chinese goodsAt a press confidence during his visit to Japan as part of his first Asia tour.
As consumer prices rise, The White House said last month It was looking at how those tariffs contributed to inflation.
Those tariffs took effect in 2018 when the Trump administration imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods and Beijing retaliated with similar punitive measures, dragging both sides into a protracted trade war.
“Markets were taking this news as a sign of a possible thawing of US-China trade tensions, although this is not the first time tariffs have been cut,” wrote Taylor Nugent, an economist at National Australia Bank. ,While tariff cuts will help soften US inflation on the margins, reports suggest administration officials are concerned about a softer look at China ahead of congressional elections in November.
currencies and oil
US Dollar IndexThe greenback, who tracks against a basket of his teammates, was at 101.827 – falling from the level of 102 earlier.
Japanese yen It traded at 127.43 per dollar, which strengthened from the earlier level of around 127.9. Australian Dollar was at $0.7095, up from around $0.706 earlier.
Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, in line with international benchmarks brent crude futures It fell about 1% to $112.30 a barrel. US crude futures Slipped about 1% to $109.23 a barrel.
— CNBC’s Ted Kemp contributed to this report.