This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific markets fell on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will be going ahead and taking effect next week.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 1.16% lower to close at 8,172.4.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 2.88% to close at 37,155.5 and the Topix lost 1.98% to close at 2,682.09. South Korea’s Kospi fell 3.39% to close at 2,532.78 while the small-cap Kosdaq traded 3.49% lower to close at 743.96.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 3.55%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 1.97% to end the trading day at 3,890.05.
Indian stocks were also in negative territory, with the Nifty 50 down 0.99%.
The price of Bitcoin fell 1.79% to $82,811.12, marking an almost 25% decline from its record high in January.
On Thursday, Trump announced that proposed tariffs on 25% on Canada and Mexico will be implemented on March 4 after a month-long postponement. The president said that these countries had not sufficiently reduced the flow of drugs across the border.
Additionally, Trump also said that China, which already faces 10% U.S. tariffs on its products, “will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date.”
Overnight in the U.S., the three major indexes closed lower. The S&P 500 closed down 1.59% at 5,861.57. The broad market index remains in the red for the week and month. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back 2.78%, to end the day at 18,544.42, with Nvidia’s 8.5% slide pulling the tech-heavy index lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 193.62 points, or 0.45%, to finish at 43,239.50.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
Bitcoin hits over 3-month low, reversing gains post Trump election
A week-long rout in Bitcoin worsened Friday, with the digital asset hitting a more than three-month low, reversing gains that followed the election of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Bitcoin was trading at about $79,800 during the mid-day in Asia, down 5.25% on the day and around 25% lower than an all-time high hit in mid-December.
Bitcoin had enjoyed a surge in prices following Trump’s victory in November, with the leader having posed himself as a pro-crypto candidate during his campaign.
Read the full story here.
—Dylan Butts
Asian currencies weaken as Trump tariff threats weigh on sentiment
Asian currencies weakened in response to a stronger dollar after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will go ahead and take effect next week.
The dollar index — which measures the value of the greenback against several major global currencies — rose 0.12% to 107.36 as investors sought safer assets given uncertainty over the impact of the tariffs.
The Indonesian rupiah depreciated 0.78% to its weakest level against the dollar since April 2020 .
The South Korean won weakened 0.71% to 1,460.6 against the greenback, while the Indian rupee weakened marginally to 87.351 against the greenback.
—Lee Ying Shan
Asian chip stocks fall after Nvidia gets bumped out of $3 trillion club
Asian chip stocks fell after U.S. technology darling Nvidia has been bumped from the $3 trillion club.
Semiconductor testing equipment supplier Advantest fell nearly 9%, while Tokyo Electron shed 5.1%. Renesas Electronics and Lasertec slipped 4.43% and 7.19% respectively.
Chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company declined 1.89%.
Nvidia is however still the second most valuable U.S. tech company, after Apple.
—Lee Ying Shan
Japan retail sales grow at fastest pace in almost a year
Retail sales in Japan grew at its fastest pace in almost a year, up 3.9% year on year in January.
This was also faster than December’s revised figure of 3.5%, but marginally lower than the 4% increase expected by economists polled by Reuters.
Fuel sales saw the largest increase among all retail sales categories, climbing 8.7% year-on-year
— Lim Hui Jie
Core inflation in Tokyo slows, but remains above central bank’s 2% target
Headline inflation rate for Japan’s capital of Tokyo in February came in at at 2.9% year-on-year, down from 3.4% in January.
Core inflation, which excludes costs of fresh food, came in at 2.2%, lower than Reuters’ expectations of 2.3%. Tokyo’s inflation numbers are widely considered to be a leading indicator of nationwide trends.
On a nationwide level, Japan last week reported that its inflation in January climbed 4% year on year, hitting its highest level since January 2023.
—Lee Ying Shan
Trump says Mexico, Canada tariffs will begin March 4
US President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025.
President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the delayed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico will begin on March 4. Trump also said an additional 10% tariff on China will begin on the same day.
Trump said in the post that the tariffs are due in part to fentanyl that enters the United States from foreign countries.
Dow futures turned negative after Trump’s announcement.
— Jesse Pound
