The Rashtrapati Bhavan is the official home of the president located at the Western end of Rajpath in New Delhi, India.
Kriangkrai Thitimakorn | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Wednesday, after all three benchmarks in Wall Street whipsawed on uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans and fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy.
The White House confirmed that the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum would take effect on Canada and other nations from Wednesday state side, but added that Trump no longer plans to raise tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.25% in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.61%.
South Korea’s Kospi index was up 0.65% in early trade, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.11%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.43%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 23,765 pointing to a weaker open compared to the HSI’s close of 23,782.14.
Elsewhere, India is expected to release its inflation figures for February later in the day. Economists polled by Reuters expect it to slow to 3.98% from 5.68% in January.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks slid stocks slid amid uncertainty over the new tariffs proposed by Trump that were in flux throughout most of Tuesday. The trade policy uncertainty has brought the benchmark to the brink of a correction, which is defined as a decline of 10% from its high.
The S&P 500 ended the session 0.76% lower, falling to 5,572.07. At its low of Tuesday’s session, the index was 10% below its record close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 478.23 points, or 1.14%, to close at 41,433.48. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.18%, closing at 17,436.10.
The S&P 500 was in the green at one point during the trading session before Trump declared on Truth Social that Canadian steel and aluminum duties would double to 50% from 25%, effective Wednesday. The president made the move in response to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s surcharge on electricity exported to the U.S.
CNBC will be hosting “CONVERGE LIVE,” an inaugural thought leadership event on March 12-13, 2025, in Singapore, where global business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and key decision-makers will discuss what it means to innovate and grow by collaborating and sharing ideas across industries.
Viewers can watch the live stream of the event and hear from speakers including Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Kim Yong Gan, Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai, Bridgewater Associates Founder Ray Dalio, and Salesforce CEO, chair, and co-founder Marc Benioff and others here.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
