Asia markets down as Trump tariff threats, potentially higher-for-longer U.S. rates dent sentiment​on February 20, 2025 at 8:58 am

Asia-Pacific markets fell Thursday, as investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on autos, chips and pharmaceutical imports as well as the Federal Reserve potentially keeping rates higher for longer.

Trump, who said the duties could be implemented as soon as April 2, did not specify whether they will be targeted at imports from certain countries or be broad-based.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.28%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.20%.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 1.24%, while the broader Topix index fell 1.18% in its final hour. The yen rose to a more than two-month high of 150.52 per U.S. dollar earlier in the day amid bets of more rate hikes by the Bank of Japan this year.

In South Korea, the Kospi declined 0.84%, while the small-cap Kosdaq lost 1.3%.

Indian stocks were also in negative territory, with the Nifty 50 down 0.13% while the BSE Sensex index fell 0.22%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined for the fourth straight day. The index closed 1.15% lower at 8,322.80.

The country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in January, in line with Reuters’ estimates.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks continued to rise even as the Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed the bank was concerned about U.S. President Donald Trump tariffs, and would prefer a further decline in inflation before lowering rates.

The S&P 500 rose 0.24%, settling at 6,144.15 and earning its second record close in a row. The index also touched a fresh all-time high during the session. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.07% to close at 20,056.25, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 71.25 points, or 0.16%, to end at 44,627.59.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Pia Singh contributed to this report.