Asian Stocks Down As Thailand Suspends Trading

Asian Stock Markets were down on Friday, ending the week with modest gains, coming after a heightened trade war week following U.S President Donald Trump’s latest wave of policies affecting the U.S and its key trading partners.

Japan Leads Rout in Asian Stock Markets as Automobile Shares Crash.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 1.8% to 37,120.33 on renewed heavy selling of automotive stocks following US President Donald Trump’s announcement he plans to impose 25% tariffs on car imports. The tariffs imposed which will kick off on the 2nd of April saw Toyota Motor Corp. shares down 2.8% while Honda Motor Co. dipped 2.4% during Friday’s trading session on Asian stock markets.

Investors on the Tokyo Stock Exchange were also impacted by the latest reports that Tokyo’s inflation rate jumped to 2.9% in April, backing expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will likely raise its benchmark interest rate at its May policy board meeting. The Topix index was down 2.07% to 2,757.25

Kospi, the benchmark index in South Korea sank 1.9% to 2,557.98 during Asian Stock market hours, with Hyundai Motor Co. leading the drag with a 3.5% decline, Kia Corp.’s shares were equally down by 2.7% implying the global automotive rout following the U.S. tariff policies.

Thailand’s SET lost 1.1% after a powerful earthquake centered in Myanmar rattled the region. The prime minister declared a state of emergency for Bangkok.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng edged lower, falling by 0.7% to close Friday at 23,426.60. The Shanghai Composite index was also lower, shedding 0.7% to 3,351.31. Mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.44% to close at 3,915.17.

Australia’s S&P/ASX200 edged 0.2% higher, closing at 7,982.00. Taiwan’s Taiex tumbled 1.6%. Australia’s markets were steady despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing of a national election on May 3, kicking off a five-week campaign.

Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages closed lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 155.09 points, or 0.37%, to end at 42,299.70. The S&P 500 declined 0.33% to close at 5,693.31, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.53% to settle at 17,804.03.