Asian Stocks Close Mixed amid Renewed Trade Fears

By Investors Hub

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday amid renewed trade tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump said that the current structure used in trade talks with China was ?too hard to get done.?

Investor optimism over the dovish Fed minutes was tempered by news reports that the U.S. is considering imposing new duties on automobile imports.

Chinese stocks extended losses after falling the most in a month in the previous session. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 14.07 points or 0.4 percent to 3,154.89, although Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 94.77 points or 0.3 percent to 30,760.41.

Japanese shares fell, led by automakers on worries about new tariffs after the U.S. launched a national security probe into car and truck imports.

The Nikkei 225 Index lost 252.73 points or 1.1 percent to finish at 22,437.01, the lowest closing level since May 9th. The broader Topix Index closed down 1.2 percent at 1,775.65.

Nissan Motor, Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Mazda Motor tumbled 2-5 percent. Banks also fell, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial ending down 1-2 percent.

Australian shares closed little changed as banks extended recent losses amid the ongoing Royal Commission enquiry into the sector. Both the S&P/ASX 200 Index and the All Ordinaries Index closed marginally higher at 6,037.10 and 6,144.10, respectively.

Banks ANZ, Commonwealth and NAB ended down between 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent. Lower iron ore and copper price weighed on the mining sector, with Rio Tinto and South32 losing about 1 percent each.

Origin Energy shed half a percent after the oil & gas producer agreed to sell its metering business to a company co-owned by a Swiss smart metering firm for A$267 million.

Rival Woodside Petroleum declined 0.6 percent and Oil Search dropped 1.1 percent as oil prices fell on data showing a surprise surge in U.S. crude stockpiles and amid expectations that OPEC members could step up production.

Meanwhile, poker machine maker Aristocrat Leisure soared 8 percent after reporting an increase in its first-half profits.