Asian shares retreat after Trump's order imposing new tariffs on 68
countries and the EU
[August 01, 2025] By
TERESA CEROJANO
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian shares retreated Friday following
choppy trading on Wall Street that saw more losses as investors assess
President Donald Trump's order imposing new tariffs on 68 countries and
the European Union starting in seven days.
Trump’s order, which pushed back the tariff deadline earlier set on Aug.
1, has injected a new dose of uncertainty in an already uncertain
process.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.7 % to 40,797.96 while South Korea’s Kospi
tumbled 3.5% to 3,132.12.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index trimmed earlier losses, shedding 0.8% to
24,584.86, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.5% to 3,554.67.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 shed 0.9% to 8,666.70, India’s BSE Sensex rose
less than 0.1% to 81,208.37 and Taiwan’s TAIEX slid 0.5% to 23,434.38.
"US and European equity futures are pointing negative, Asian stocks are
taking a beating and the DXY index is still rising,” Benjamin Picton,
senior market strategist at Rabo Bank, said in a commentary about
Trump's new order updating reciprocal tariff rates.
"The USA is cherry-picking high value-add industry for its own economy
while forcing trading partners to grant preferential market access for
its exports and supply it with cheap imports. Make no mistake, this is
imperial trade,” he added.
Mizuho Bank noted in "somewhat a turn of the tables, Asia (and in
particular Southeast Asia) which was harder hit post-'Liberation Day'
now appear to be in a better position by virtue of tariffs differentials
though intra-regional differences remain small.”
On Wall Street on Thursday, stocks capped the trading day with more
losses after an early big tech rally faded and a health care sector
pullback led the market lower.
The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, its third straight decline. The benchmark index,
which is just below the record high it set Monday, notched a 2.2% gain
for the month of July and is up 7.8% so far this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7% and the Nasdaq composite
closed less than 0.1% lower.
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People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's
Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Tokyo.
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
 Roughly 70% of stocks in the S&P 500
lost ground, with health care companies accounting for the biggest
drag on the market.
Health care stocks sank after the White House released letters
asking big pharmaceutical companies to cut prices and make other
changes in the next 60 days. Eli Lilly & Co. fell 2.6%, UnitedHealth
Group slid 6.2% and Bristol-Myers Squibb dropped 5.8%.
Gains by some big technology stocks with hefty values helped temper
the impact of the broader market’s decline.
Meta Platforms surged 11.3% after the parent company of Facebook and
Instagram crushed Wall Street’s sales and profit targets even as the
company continues to pour billions of dollars into artificial
intelligence.
Microsoft climbed 3.9% after posting better results than analysts
expected. The software pioneer also gave investors an encouraging
update on its Azure cloud computing platform, which is a centerpiece
of the company’s artificial intelligence efforts.
Big Tech companies have regularly been the driving force behind much
of the market’s gains over enthusiasm for the future of artificial
intelligence.
In other dealings Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil added 14 cents to
$69.40 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard,
rose 12 cents to $71.82 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 150.47 Japanese yen from 150.67 yen. The
euro rose to $1.1431 from $1.1421.
___
Associated Press Business Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
contributed
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