Asia report: Markets decline as Trump revises tariffs
By Josh White
Date: Friday 01 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - Markets across the Asia-Pacific region declined on Friday after US president Donald Trump announced revisions to reciprocal tariffs, imposing new rates ranging from 10% to 41% on a range of countries.
The move triggered broad-based weakness, with technology and energy shares leading the losses and regional currencies mostly retreating against the dollar.
"A worldwide stock selloff has now reached its sixth consecutive day, marking the longest losing streak since September 2023, following Donald Trump's announcement of new tariff rates," said TickMill market strategy partner Patrick Munnelly.
"Despite two days of solid earnings from major tech companies, market sentiment remained low.
"The MSCI All Country World Index declined, along with the MSCI Asian stock index which also fell for its sixth straight session, representing its longest slump this year."
Munnellly noted that Trump introduced a range of new tariffs, comprising a 10% global minimum and duties of 15% or more on countries with trade surpluses with the US.
"The dollar remained stable on Friday following its first monthly increase since Trump took office in January.
"The Taiwan dollar declined for the seventh day in a row, the longest drop since June 2023, due to a 20% tariff rate imposed on the island.
"Concurrently, the Swiss franc weakened slightly after Trump established a 39% tax on exports to the US from Switzerland."
Stocks fall after Trump adjusts tariffs; tech and energy shares lead losses
In South Korea, the Kospi 100 posted the sharpest drop among major indices, falling 4.01% to 3,149.04.
Heavyweights Hyundai Heavy Industries and SK Square tumbled 10.03% and 7.76% respectively, while NH Investment & Securities declined 7.62%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 0.57% to close at 40,837.00, weighed down by steep falls in technology names.
Tokyo Electron plunged 18.02%, while Hitachi and Hoya dropped 8.81% and 8.76% respectively.
The broader Topix index managed a slight gain of 0.19% to 2,948.65, white Japan's jobless rate remained steady in June, matching forecasts.
Chinese stocks also lost ground amid fresh data showing a contraction in manufacturing activity for July.
The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.37% to 3,559.95, while the Shenzhen Component eased 0.17% to 10,991.32.
Sinochem Equipment Technology Qingdao sank 9.97%, and losses of nearly 10% were also seen in Guangzhou Pearl River Industrial Development and Lionco Pharmaceutical Group.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined 1.07% to 24,507.81.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation fell 5.87%, WuXi AppTec slid 3.78%, and PetroChina dropped 3.26% as investors weighed the impact of energy-focused tariffs.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 retreated 0.92% to 8,662.00, with healthcare stocks among the hardest hit.
Nanosonics declined 4.44%, Polynovo lost 4.26%, and Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals was down 4.16%.
New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 lost 0.74% to 12,729.40, with travel and entertainment stocks weighing on the index.
KMD Brands and SkyCity Entertainment Group each slid 3.92%, while Tourism Holdings dropped 2.84%.
In currency markets, the dollar was last down 0.13% on the yen, trading at JPY 150.55, as it strengthened 0.01% against the Aussie to AUD 1.5564, and advanced 0.44% on the Kiwi, changing hands at NZD 1.7054.
Oil prices also moved lower, with Brent crude futures dipping 0.32% on ICE to $71.47 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate was down 0.38% at $69.00.
China factory activity contracts, Japan job market shows signs of softening
In economic news, China's manufacturing sector contracted in July as firms scaled back production amid renewed uncertainty over US tariffs on Chinese exports.
The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index slipped to 49.5, down from 50.4 in June, marking its first fall below the neutral 50 level since April and missing analysts' expectations.
Its decline was driven by subdued overseas demand and softer domestic growth, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
In Japan, the jobless rate held steady at 2.5% in June, matching economists' forecasts, according to official data.
However, the number of job openings per 100 job seekers slipped to 122, down from 124 in May and below the 125 expected by analysts.
The figures suggested a slight cooling in what has been a persistently tight labour market, long under pressure from Japan's ageing population and shrinking workforce.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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