Asian shares mostly gain despite anxiety over Trump's trade war
[April 17, 2025] By
YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Thursday, despite the continued
fretting over President Donald Trump’s trade war, with all eyes on
negotiations that just began between the administration and Japan.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% to 34,343.11 in afternoon
trading.
Honda stock price jumped 2.1% after the Japanese automaker said it plans
to move its production of the five-door Civic hybrid electric vehicles
for the U.S. market from Japan to the company's plant in Indiana.
Honda Motor Co. didn't say the move was in response to Trump's tariff
policies but stressed it moves production to where there is demand.
Production of the U.S.-bound five-door Civic HEV began at the Yorii
plant outside Tokyo in February. So far 3,000 vehicles have been
produced there for the U.S. market.
Trump joined Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary
Howard Lutnick in the talks with the Japanese delegation in Washington.
“Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan
and the USA!” Trump wrote in a social media post ahead of the meeting.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 7,813.00. South Korea's Kospi
edged up 1.0% to 2,471.51. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.0% to
21,271.39, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, slipping
less than 0.1% to 3,274.68.
U.S. stocks fell Wednesday after Nvidia warned new restrictions on
exports to China will chisel billions of dollars off its results. The
S&P 500 sank 2.2% after falling as much as 3.3% earlier. Such an amount
would have vied for one of its worst losses in years before the
historic, chaotic swings that have upended Wall Street in recent weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 699 points, or 1.7%, and the
Nasdaq composite sank a market-leading 3.1%.
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A dealer holds her hair at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul,
South Korea, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
 Many investors are bracing for a
possible recession because of Trump’s tariffs, which he has said he
hopes will bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States and
trim how much more it imports from other countries than it exports.
A survey of global fund managers by Bank of America found
expectations for recession are at the fourth-highest level in the
last 20 years.
The World Trade Organization said Wednesday it
expects tariffs to cause a 0.2% decline in the volume of world
merchandise trade for 2025. That’s if the tariff situation remains
as it was on Monday. Trade could shrink by 1.5% this year if
conditions worsen, the WTO said.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 120.93 points to 5,275.70. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average dropped 699.57 to 39,669.39, and the Nasdaq
composite sank 516.01 to 16,307.16.
Treasury yields eased in the bond market, taking a leg lower
following the comments from the Fed’s chair. The yield on the
10-year Treasury fell to 4.28% from 4.35% late Tuesday and from
4.48% at the end of last week.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 87 cents to $63.34 a
barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 75 cents to
$66.60 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 142.74 Japanese yen
from 141.74 yen. The euro cost $1.1358, down from $1.1401.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
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