Asia-Pacific equities outside China declined following incoming US president Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday that he would impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on his first day in office.
Japanese equities underperformed with the country’s benchmark Topix index shedding 1.1 per cent, while the Nikkei 225 lost 1.5 per cent in early trading.
China and Hong Kong’s stock markets rose in early trading.
In Taipei, the semiconductor-heavy Taiex dropped 1 per cent as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company fell 1.5 per cent after Nvidia shares slid 4 per cent on Monday in the US. TSMC is a key supplier of artificial intelligence chips for Nvidia.
Currencies around the region slid against the dollar except for Japan’s yen, which was flat. The Australian and New Zealand dollar led losses as both weakened 0.5 per cent.
