Cityscape of Perth, the capital of Western Australia.
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Asia-Pacific markets were mostly down Thursday, as investors weigh U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs of about 25% on autos, semiconductors and pharmaceutical imports.
Trump, who said the duties could be implemented as soon as April 2, did not specify whether they will be targeted at imports from certain countries or be broad-based.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.06%, declining for the fourth straight day.
The country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is set to rise 4.1% in January from 4% the month before, estimates from a Reuters’ poll shows.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 started the day 0.79% lower, while the broader Topix index was fell 0.67%.
In South Korea, the Kospi began 0.18% lower, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.32%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 22,750, pointing to a slightly higher open compared to the HSI’s close of 22,944.24.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks continued to rise even as the Federal Reserve remained more cautious and U.S. President Donald Trump threatened more tariffs.
The S&P 500 rose 0.24%, settling at 6,144.15 and earning its second record close in a row. The index also touched a fresh all-time high during the session. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.07% to close at 20,056.25, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 71.25 points, or 0.16%, to end at 44,627.59.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
