Investing.com-- Asian stocks were a mixed bag on Friday as investors grappled with the prospect of trade tariffs under U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to impose steep tariffs on the BRICS bloc.
Regional trading volumes still remained muted on account of market holidays in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan for the Lunar New Year.
Asian markets took few cues from a positive overnight close on Wall Street, as sentiment was largely dented by more tariff threats from Trump. U.S. stock index futures rose in Asian trade, with technology shares set to recoup more of this week’s losses after some strong earnings from the sector.
Focus is also on key PCE price index data- the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge- which is due later on Friday.
Trump threatens 100% tariffs against BRICS over de-dollarization
Trump threatened to impose 100% trade tariffs on the BRICS group of countries over their attempts to create their own currency and move away from the dollar.
Trump demanded commitments from the group- which consists primarily of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa- that it will not launch such a venture.
Trump also said that he still plans to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, keeping investors wary over a renewed global trade war. He is also expected to approve 10% tariffs on China.
Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index pointed to a negative open after Trump’s comments, given that the country is a key member of BRICS.
Sentiment towards Indian markets was also skittish before the release of the Union Budget. The Nifty had slumped to an over seven-month low this week, although it did recover some ground.
Japan stocks flat as Tokyo inflation rises
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose slightly, while the TOPIX index was flat.
Consumer price index inflation data from Tokyo rose as expected to a near two-year high in January, heralding a similar increase in nationwide inflation.
Higher inflation ties further into the Bank of Japan’s notion of a virtuous cycle driving up economic growth and inflation, giving the central bank more headroom to raise interest rates further.
The central bank had hiked rates by 25 basis points last week.
Other readings also showed in Japan’s economy, with industrial production unexpectedly rising in December, while retail sales grew more than expected.
Broader Asian markets were a mixed bag. Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.3%, briefly hitting a record high of 8,566.90 points on growing bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates in February.
Singapore’s Straits Times index was the best performer in Asia, rallying nearly 2% as trade resumed after the Lunar New Year holiday. Singapore markets benefited from increased demand for economically sensitive sectors, such as lenders and industrials, as sentiment towards technology shares was decimated by the release of China’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence model.
South Korea’s KOSPI- which also resumed trade after the Lunar New Year holiday- slumped 1.3% on losses in major chipmaking and tech stocks, which caught up with severe declines in their global peers this week.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) memory chip supplier SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) slid as much as 11%, while peer Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) shed 2.6%.