South Korea’s export growth slowed in September, with shipments to the United States barely increasing, in an outcome that may support market expectations for an easing of monetary policy as early as next week.
Mongkol Chuewong | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded lower Tuesday after Wall Street fell overnight as Trump tariffs stoke a risk-off mood, while investors assesed Bank of Korea’s rate decision.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.87%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.34%, while the Topix slipped 0.72%.
South Korea’s Kospi traded 0.5% lower while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.44%.
South Korea’s central bank expectedly cut rates to 2.75% from 3%, as it strives to stimulate a slowing economy. The Korean won is currently trading at 1,431.5 against the dollar.
South Korea has been facing political uncertainty, stemming from the impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.94% while mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.88%.
Overnight in the U.S., the markets failed to spring back from last Friday’s sell-off. The broad market index lost 0.5%, closing at 5,983.25. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.21%, ending the session at 19,286.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 33.19 points, or 0.08%, to close at 43,461.21.
Ongoing concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with key trading partners continued to weigh on market sentiment. Trump on Monday declared that tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be implemented once the one-month delay period concludes next week.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
