Asian markets mostly fell in early trading Thursday after President Donald Trump signed an order that would ban telecom equipment from countries considered “foreign adversaries,” in a move apparently targeted at China’s Huawei Technologies.
While the executive order it doesn’t name specific countries or companies, it follows months of U.S. pressure on Huawei, the world’s biggest supplier of network gear. A ban would also affect China-based ZTE Corp.
0763, -4.39%
, which saw its stock tumble in Hong Kong trading.
On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said he expects to travel to Beijing to resume trade talks “at some point in the near future.” Mnuchin said talks with China have been “constructive” but there is “still a lot of work to do.”
Japan’s Nikkei
NIK, -0.63%
sank 0.8%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
HSI, +0.00%
slipped 0.1%. The Shanghai Composite
SHCOMP, +0.12%
was about flat, while the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite
399106, -0.06%
rose slightly. South Korea’s Kospi
SEU, -0.47%
fell 0.5%. Taiwan’s Taiex
Y9999, +0.03%
dipped 0.1%, while benchmark indexes in Singapore
STI, +0.02%
and Indonesia
JAKIDX, -1.49%
were mixed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
XJO, +0.06%
was the region’s standout, rising 0.2%.
Among individual stocks, Toyota
7203, -1.08%
and Honda
7267, -0.70%
fell in Tokyo trading despite reports that Trump will postpone tariffs on auto imports. Hyundai
005380, +1.17%
and Kia Motors
000270, +2.15%
gained in South Korea, though, while tech giant Samsung
005930, -1.53%
fell. In Hong Kong, tech companies such as Sunny Optical
2382, -4.80%
, AAC
2018, -2.28%
and Tencent
0700, -0.75%
slid. Beach Energy
BPT, +0.99%
advanced while Westpac Banking
WBC, -4.57%
fell in Australia.
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Source : MTV
