Asian stocks take a breather from trade tensions; markets up

China retaliated by raising import duties on $34 billion worth of American goods, including soybeans, electric cars and whiskey. (Shutterstock photo)

SINGAPORE — Asian markets were mostly higher on Wednesday as traders sidelined tariffs that the U.S. and China have threatened to impose on one another, focusing on positive housing data instead.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.2 per cent to 22,540.07 and South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.4 per cent to 2,373.50. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rebounded 1.5 per cent to 29,908.50 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China increased 0.4 per cent to 2,918.60. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.1 per cent to 6,166.40. Taiwan’s benchmark rose but Southeast Asian indexes were mixed.

U.S-CHINA TARIFFS: A burgeoning trade war between the U.S. and China is showing no signs of abating. On Tuesday, China’s government called President Donald Trump’s threat of new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods “blackmail” and warned to retaliate with measures of its own. Trump has already announced a 25 per cent tariff on up to $50 billion of Chinese products starting July 6. China retaliated by raising import duties on $34 billion worth of American goods, including soybeans, electric cars and whiskey.

POSITIVE HOUSING DATA: The solid U.S. job market has helped to boost demand for new homes. The Commerce Department said housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million in May, the strongest pace since July 2007. All of May’s construction gains came from a 62 per cent jump in the Midwest, while building slumped in the Northeast, South and West.

QUOTEWORTHY: “Trade tension is going to dominate market sentiment in the weeks to come. The market is waiting for Beijing to come out with counter measurements to offload more chips,” said Margaret Yang, market analyst at CMC Markets Singapore.

WALL STREET: Major U.S. benchmarks finished lower. The S&P 500 index dropped 0.4 per cent to 2,762.57 and the Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.1 per cent to 24,700.21. The Nasdaq composite dipped 0.3 per cent to 7,725.59.

ENERGY: Oil futures recovered losses from the previous day ahead of an OPEC meeting on Friday. Saudi Arabia and Russia are seeking to raise production by 1.5 million barrels per day, but they may not get their way. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 38 cents to $65.28 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled at $64.90 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 32 cents to $75.40 in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 110.19 yen from 110.07 yen in late trading Tuesday. The euro ticked up to $1.1579 from $1.1575.

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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay contributed to this report.