Asia-Pacific markets were trading slightly weaker on Monday as investors assessed escalating rhetoric from the Trump administration over Greenland and braced for a heavy slate of economic data from China.
Over the weekend, United States President Donald Trump and European leaders exchanged sharp comments over the Arctic territory, after Trump threatened tariffs on eight European countries while reiterating his demand for U.S. control of Greenland, which is part of Denmark.
By 11:30 am AEDT (12:20 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.3%, while South Korea’s KOSPI 200 edged 0.1% lower.
In Japan, fresh data showed a sharp deterioration in capital spending intentions. Core machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 11.0% month-on-month in November to 883.9 billion yen, according to the Cabinet Office. The result was well below expectations for a 5.1% decline, following a 7.0% increase in October.
Meanwhile, China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in nearly three years in the fourth quarter, with gross domestic product (GDP) rising 4.5% as weaker domestic demand weighed on activity, even as full-year growth met Beijing’s 5% target, retail sales missed expectations with a 0.9% rise in December, and industrial output beat forecasts with a 5.2% increase
On Wall Street, major U.S. benchmarks ended Friday slightly lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, the S&P 500 fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite also edged down 0.1%.
Stocks hit session lows after Trump said he would prefer National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett to remain in his current role, casting doubt on his appointment as the next Federal Reserve chair.
Hassett has been viewed by markets as the more dovish and market-friendly option compared with former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, who has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Warsh is seen as less inclined to keep interest rates low.
In commodities, Brent crude rose 0.6% on Friday to settle at US$64.13 per barrel. Spot gold slipped 0.4% to US$4,596.3 an ounce before rallying to fresh record highs near US$4,690.94 during Monday’s Asian session.
In China on Friday, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3% to 4,101.9 on Friday, while the CSI 300 declined 0.4% to 4,731.9.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3% to 26,845.0, and India’s BSE Sensex ended little changed at 84,675.1.
European markets also closed lower on Friday, with the UK’s FTSE 100 down marginally at 10,235.3, Germany’s DAX easing 0.2% to 25,297.1 and France’s CAC 40 falling 0.7% to 8,258.9.
