Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Wednesday, after all three benchmarks on Wall Street whipsawed on uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans and fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy.
The White House confirmed that the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum would take effect on Canada and other nations from Wednesday stateside, but added that Trump no longer plans to raise tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 25.98 points, or 0.1%, to 36,819.09.
Shares in automaker Nissan increased 0.61%, in choppy trade, following an announcement that CEO Makoto Uchida will step down from his position on April 1. He will be replaced by Ivan Espinosa, the company’s current chief planning officer.
The company had been in talks with Honda Motor to merge and create what would have been the world’s third-largest automaker by sales.
Discussions on this were terminated, but Honda had reportedly said it was open to resuming merger talks after Uchida steps down.
Shares in Honda, meanwhile, fell 0.14%.
Japan’s annual wholesale inflation hit 4% in February, slowing from the seven-month high of 4.2% the month before.
The latest reading is still well above the country’s 2% inflation target and raises bets that the Bank of Japan will hike interest rates.
Nomura expects the central bank to hike rates by “25 basis points apiece in July 2025 and January 2026 as a means of adjusting the degree of monetary easing.”
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 181.83 points, or 0.8%, to 23,600.31.
Tech player Robosense was among the top movers in the Hong Kong market, with shares rising as much as 18.28% at one point. Strong gains were also seen in jewelry chain Chow Tai Fook which advanced as much as 7.15%.
CHINA
The CSI 300 in mainland China slipped 14.19 points, or 0.4% to 3,927.23.
China’s 10-year government bond yield is now hovering at 1.918% and is edging up to the 2% key psychological level. Meanwhile, the 30-year yield was at 2.015%, after it rose above the 2% level on Monday.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index recovered 207.27 points, or 0.9%, to 22,278.36.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index moved higher 7.24 points, or 0.2%, to 3,833.07
In Korea, the Kospi restocked 37.22 points, or 1.5%, to 2,574.82
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 faded 161.41 points, or 1.3%, to 12,249.56.
In Australia, the ASX 200 dropped 103.87 points, or 1.3%, to 7,786.24
