Shares in Asia track European markets lower on concern over Trump’s push on Greenland
TOKYO: US futures fell sharply and Asian shares were mostly lower on Tuesday after US markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day, a national holiday.
World shares took a hit after US President Donald Trump threatened to slap a 10% extra tariff on imports from eight European countries, provoking a backlash from important trading partners that invest heavily in the US
The future for the S&P 500 sank 1.3% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2%.
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.1% to 52,991.10 after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called a snap election for February 8.
The yields on Japanese government bonds have been surging after Takaichi indicated she planned to dissolve parliament and hold an election, aiming to capitalise on her strong public opinion ratings. She has also proposed temporarily suspending the food tax.
Expectations that Takaichi will take a renewed electoral mandate to raise government spending have revived worries over Japan’s national finances, pushing the yield sharply higher, while prices of such investments declined. The yield on the 40-year government bond surged to a record 4% on Tuesday, while yields on other long-term bonds have surged to decades-high levels.
By RSS/AP
