On Friday morning (28 February, 10:18 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific exhibited a decrease across the region, mirroring the trend on Wall Street. This followed an announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the implementation of tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, set to come into force next week.
President Trump confirmed on Thursday the imposition of a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico starting on March 4, following a one-month delay. The decision was attributed to the countries’ alleged failure to curb the flow of drugs across their borders as requested. Furthermore, he also declared that China, already subject to 10% U.S. tariffs, will also face an extra 10% duty on the same date.
Japan’s NIKKEI slumped by 2.81% to 37,182.09. South Korea’s KOSPI plummeted by 2.79% to 2,548.51, and Australia’s ASX 200 dropped by 0.93% to 8,191.6.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC contracted by 0.84% to 3,359.72. Hong Kong’s HSI lost 2.01% to 23,241.62, and Shenzhen’s SZI declined by 1.41% to 10,773.86.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) decreased by 0.45% to 43,239.5. NASDAQ plunged by 2.78% to 18,544.42, and S&P 500 shrank by 1.59% to 5,861.57. VIX jumped by 10.63% to 21.13.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Thursday due to renewed worries about the oil supply following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw a license awarded to U.S. oil giant Chevron for operations in Venezuela. Brent futures expanded $1.51 or 2.08% to $74.04 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased $1.73 or 2.52% to $70.35 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures dipped 26 cents or 0.35% to $73.78 a barrel, and the WTI slid 25 cents or 0.36% to $70.1 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures declined 0.31% to $2,886.9 per Troy ounce.
