Five things to watch in markets in the week ahead
Investing.com-- Asian stock markets fell in a broad-based sell-off on Monday, with Hong Kong’s tech-heavy index leading declines, as fresh U.S. tariff threats and retaliation talks from Beijing reignited trade war fears and undermined investor confidence.
Trump on Sunday appeared to soften his tone, writing on Truth Social, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine.”
The reassurance helped lift U.S. stock futures in early Asian trading, but regional equities remained under pressure as investors awaited updates on de-escalation.
Hong Kong stocks lead losses amid renewed tariff jitters
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 2.3% on Monday, dragged down by heavy losses in major Chinese internet and technology firms.
The Hang Seng TECH index dropped over 2%, with heavyweights like Alibaba (HK:9988) and Tencent (HK:0700) declining.
Mainland Chinese markets also weakened, with the blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite each down nearly 1%.
Trump on Friday announced plans to impose an additional 100% tariff on all of China’s U.S.-bound exports, in response to China curbing its critical mineral exports. Trump also plans to impose new export controls on certain U.S.-made software deemed critical to national security.
The news rattled global markets and sparked fears of a slowdown in regional exports.
The remarks came as investors were already contending with weak Chinese data and concerns over policy tightening in major economies.
China’s Commerce Ministry responded over the weekend, saying the country “does not want a trade war but is not afraid of one,” and warned of “appropriate countermeasures” should the U.S. proceed with the planned tariff hikes.
The ministry also accused Washington of adopting “double standards” in its trade policy.
Asia stocks slip; Nikkei futures rise amid political uncertainty
Elsewhere in Asia, Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday, while other regional stocks fell amid tariff jitters.
However, futures tied to Nikkei 225 jumped nearly 1.5% on Monday as the yen weakened after Sanae Takaichi’s bid to become Japan’s prime minister faced a setback last week as her coalition partner withdrew.
South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 1.3%.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 1%.
Futures for India’s Nifty 50 edged higher before market open.