BANGKOK — Shares were mixed in Asia on Wednesday, with Chinese shares leading gains, after U.S. stocks rose to records despite President-elect Donald Trump’s latest talk about tariffs.
Tokyo’s Nikkei index fell 0.8% to 38,134.97 as the Japanese yen surged in value against the U.S. dollar. The dollar fell to 151.59 yen from 153.08 yen. It had traded above 155 yen recently, but uncertainty over the future course of U.S. trade policy has led investors to buy yen as a safe haven, analysts said.
Sharp tariff hikes that Trump said he would impose on imports of goods from Canada, Mexico and China could roil the global economy if they take effect. His comments Monday provoked vehement responses from all three major U.S. trading partners.
“Investors, already jittery, are keenly aware of the ripple effects such protracted disputes could have, particularly on the Chinese and European economies that are bracing for Trump’s tariff onslaught,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Chinese markets advanced, led by strong buying of technology shares. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.4% to 19,615.17, while the Shanghai Composite index added 1.5% to 3,309.78. A 10% drop in industrial profits may have raised expectations for additional government stimulus, and investors may have resumed buying, seeking bargains after prices fell recently.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.7% to 2,503.06 as Samsung Electronics lost 3.4% after the company announced a shift in its top management.
The company said the reshuffle, which included appointing Young Hyun Jun, a Samsung vice chairman who heads its Device Solutions division, to be CEO was intended to strengthen Samsung’s competitiveness, focusing on computer chips.
Australia’s S&P/ASX gained 0.6%, to 8,406.70, while India’s Sensex jumped 0.6%. Taiwan’s Taiex sank 1.5% and the SET in Bangkok shed 0.6%.
On Wall Street, investors appeared to shrug off the tough talk on trade.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% on Tuesday to 6,021.63 to top the all-time high it set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%, to 44,860.31, besting its own record set the day before. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.6% as Microsoft and Big Tech led the way, closing at 19,174.30.
Trump has often praised the use of tariffs, but investors are weighing whether his latest threat is an overture for negotiations or will actually become policy, with painful ramifications for markets and the global economy.
Unless the United States can prepare alternatives for the autos, energy products and other goods that come from Mexico, Canada and China, such tariffs would raise the price of imported items all at once and make households poorer, according to Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists at High Frequency Economics.
Goldman Sachs estimated they would raise consumer inflation by 1%.
They would also hurt profit margins for U.S. companies, while raising the threat of retaliatory tariffs by other countries.
General Motors sank 9%, and Ford Motor fell 2.6% because both import automobiles assembled in Mexico. Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and other Mexican beer brands in the United States, dropped 3.3%. The value of the Mexican peso fell 1.8% against the U.S. dollar.
Higher prices could push the Federal Reserve to put off its cuts to interest rates, just after it began its main interest rate from a two-decade high a couple months ago to support the job market. Lower interest rates can boost the economy, but also fuel inflation.
A report on Tuesday from the Conference Board said confidence among U.S. consumers improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected.
Kohl’s tumbled 17% after its results for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. Best Buy fell 4.9% after likewise falling short of analysts’ expectations.
Big Tech stocks helped prop up U.S. indexes. Gains of 3.2% for Amazon and 2.2% for Microsoft were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.
In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 23 cents to $69.00 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 19 cents, to $72.51 per barrel.
The euro rose to $1.0511 from $1.0488.