Asia share markets hit by US auto tariff threat, dollar pulls back
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Thursday after the US government launched a national security probe into auto imports that could lead to new tariffs, and President Donald Trump’s comments indicated fresh setbacks in US-China trade talks.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was 0.1 percent higher, but Japan's Nikkei stock index fell 1.2 percent as auto shares slumped. South Korea's KOSPI lost 0.3 percent.
A broad MSCI index of automobile and auto components firms .MIWO0AC00PUS was down 0.9 percent. Tokyo’s SE TOPIX transportation equipment index .ITEQP.T was 2.6 percent lower.
The US Commerce Department said on that it would launch a national security investigation into car and truck imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, a move that could lead to tariffs like those imposed on steel and aluminium in March.
Adding to market jitters, Trump called for “a different structure” in any trade deal with China, fuelling uncertainty over the negotiations.
On Thursday, China’s Commerce Ministry said it had not pledged to cut China’s trade surplus with the US by a certain figure, and that it hopes the US implements measures promised during trade negotiations as soon as possible.
China's blue chip CSI 300 index was 0.1 percent lower.
Prompting further uncertainty, Trump cast doubt on plans for an unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying he would know next week whether the meeting would take place.
“There’s a lot of noise around Donald Trump, China-US trade, the auto imports now, and then the Korean summit, and all these things are just weighing on investors at the moment,” said Shane Oliver, chief economist & head of investment strategy, AMP Capital, Sydney.
“I think we probably would have seen a decent day in Asian markets were it not for these ongoing geopolitical worries because the minutes from the Fed’s last meeting were relatively benign.”
While the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s May 1-2 meeting indicated that policymakers expect another interest rate increase would be warranted “soon” if the US economic outlook remains intact, they helped to ease market concerns that the Fed would accelerate the pace of interest rate increases.
The two-year Treasury note yield US2YT=RR, which rises with traders’ expectations of higher Fed fund rates, was at 2.5121 percent after touching 2.5970.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR fell back below the 3-percent threshold to 2.9825 percent, compared with its US close of 3.003 percent.
Analysts said that market uncertainty was prompting a clear flight to safety across financial markets.
The dollar was down 0.6 percent against the yen to 109.4.
“With Trump’s unpredictable behaviour leaving investors on edge, the Japanese yen has scope to appreciate further in the short term,” said Lukman Otunuga, an analyst at FXTM. “However, a strengthening dollar on the back of heightened US rate hike expectations could limit the yen’s upside gains.”
The euro was up 0.1 percent on the day at $1.1709. The dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was 0.2 percent lower at 93.839.
