Asian Markets Slide Lower on Thursday
(MENAFN) Asian equities traded mostly lower on Thursday as investors digested the outcomes of US President Donald Trump’s first face-to-face talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years.
In mainland China, the Shenzhen index slid 1.16%, the Shanghai index dropped 0.73%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.24%, erasing earlier gains following the summit’s conclusion.
Speaking after the meeting in South Korea, Trump announced that the United States will cut fentanyl-related tariffs on Beijing to 10% and had secured a one-year deal with China on rare earths and other essential minerals.
"I guess on the scale from zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12," Trump told reporters on Air Force One after departing South Korea. "A lot of decisions were made there wasn't too much left out there."
Elsewhere in Asia, markets showed mixed performance after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cast doubt on a potential rate cut in December, noting it is not a “foregone conclusion.”
The Fed had lowered the policy rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, as anticipated, bringing it to a range of 3.75%-4%.
Investors will also be eyeing South Korea’s markets following disclosures from Kim Yong-beom, Seoul’s chief policy advisor, regarding the trade pact with Washington. Reports indicate South Korea will invest $200 billion in the U.S., with a $20 billion annual ceiling, and allocate the remaining $150 billion of its $350 billion pledge, made earlier this year, toward shipbuilding cooperation.
Reflecting these developments, South Korea's Kospi index rose 0.14%, supported by gains in auto and shipbuilding stocks. Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.04% as the Bank of Japan opted to maintain its 0.5% policy rate at its first meeting under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
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