Asia-Pacific stock markets presented a mixed and somewhat volatile picture at Thursday’s open, as investors worked to decipher US President Donald Trump’s vow to impose a staggering 100% tariff on imported semiconductors and chips.
While this new threat sent shockwaves through the tech sector, a crucial exemption for companies “building in the United States” appeared to temper some of the initial panic, leading to a divergent performance across the region. Indian benchmarks, however, are poised for a weaker start on separate tariff news.
The latest salvo in the global trade war came late on Wednesday US time, when President Trump announced his plan to hit imported semiconductors with a massive 100% duty.
“We’re going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors,” he said, speaking from the Oval Office.
However, he immediately followed this threat with a significant exemption. “But the good news for companies like Apple is if you’re building in the United States or have committed to build, without question, committed to build in the United States, there will be no charge,” Trump added.
This caveat, while leaving many details unclear—such as how much a company needs to be manufacturing in the US to qualify—had an immediate impact. Shares of Apple advanced 3% in extended trading following his remarks.
A divergent reaction: Taiwan and Japan’s Topix rally, others falter
The reaction across Asian chip-related stocks and broader markets was varied. Taiwan’s benchmark Taiex index surged over 2% in early trade, reversing course from losses in its previous session.
The benchmark was up 2.22% as of 9:35 a.m. local time, with gains led by the technology, industrials, and healthcare sectors.
Shares of tech giants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) were last seen trading 4.44% and 3.49% higher, respectively, suggesting investors believe these key players in the global tech supply chain may benefit or be insulated from the new tariff regime.
In Japan, the broader Topix index also rose for a third consecutive session, briefly hitting a record high of 2,989.59. The index had gained 0.76% as of 10:42 a.m. local time.
However, the benchmark Nikkei 255 was flat as of 8:06 a.m. Singapore time. Japanese chip stocks also showed a mixed reaction: semiconductor testing equipment supplier Advantest’s shares were flat, while technology conglomerate SoftBank—which owns a majority stake in chip designer Arm—added 1.77%.
In contrast, shares of Tokyo Electron and Renesas Electronics tumbled 2.62% and 1.96%, respectively.
Elsewhere, the picture was less rosy. In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 0.12%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was unchanged.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark was also flat. Chinese and Hong Kong stocks started the day higher, with the Hang Seng Index adding 0.23% and the mainland’s CSI 300 ticking up by 0.14% as of 9:40 a.m. local time.
Indian markets brace for a weaker start on separate tariff hike
Indian stock market benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to open on a weak note on Thursday, following news that US President Donald Trump has slapped an additional 25% tariff on imports from India.
This move, which brings the combined tariffs imposed on the country to 50%, was reportedly due to India’s alleged direct and indirect import of oil from Russia.
The trends on Gift Nifty also indicated a negative start for the Indian benchmark index, with Gift Nifty trading around the 24,594 level, a discount of nearly 40 points from Nifty futures’ previous close.
This follows a session on Wednesday where the domestic equity market had already ended lower after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its decision to keep the repo rate unchanged and maintain its policy stance as ‘Neutral’.
The Sensex had dropped 166.26 points, or 0.21%, to close at 80,543.99, while the Nifty 50 settled 75.35 points, or 0.31%, lower at 24,574.20.
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