Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed renewed United States-China trade tensions following fresh remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump, who accused Beijing of acting “economically hostile”.
Trump criticised China on Tuesday for failing to purchase U.S. soybeans, posting on Truth Social: “I believe that China purposefully not buying our Soybeans, and causing difficulty for our Soybean Farmers, is an Economically Hostile Act.
"We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution.”
His comments reignited fears of another round of tariff escalation between the world’s two largest economies.
By 11:50 am AEDT (12:50 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.9%, and South Korea’s Kospi 200 climbed 1.2%, hovering near yesterday's record intraday highs.
The mixed performance came after a volatile session on Wall Street, where major U.S. benchmarks diverged.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8%.
Commodity markets reflected the same uncertainty. Brent crude dropped 1.5% to settle at US$62.39 per barrel, its lowest level since 9 May, as investors priced in the potential for weaker global demand.
Spot gold rose 0.8% to a record US$4,142.15 per ounce.
Meanwhile, mainland Chinese and Hong Kong markets extended declines on Tuesday amid investor caution. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% to 3,865.2, while the CSI 300 dropped 1.2% to 4,539.1.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 1.7% to 25,441.4, marking multi-week lows. India’s BSE Sensex also retreated 0.4% to close at 82,030.0.
In Europe, markets also closed mixed. The FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 9,452.8, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.6% to 24,236.9, and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.2% to 7,919.6.
