Japanese stocks tumbled while Chinese markets gained Monday after Donald Trump took office as U. S. president and promised « American first » policies, adding to concerns about the threat of protectionism.
KEEPING SCORE: The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.9 percent to 9,412.54 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7 percent to 23,051.68. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.1 percent to 18,924.87 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.6 percent to 5,623.20. Seoul’s Kospi added 0.1 percent to 2,067.59 and Taiwan and Singapore also gained. Jakarta and New Zealand fell.
TRUMP ON TRADE: Trump has rattled businesspeople in Japan, China and other major U. S. trading partners who worry about his promises to restrict commerce and shift jobs back to the United States. Trump’s inauguration speech repeated those themes but gave no additional details. A Chinese state-run newspaper, the Global Times, said Saturday « dramatic changes » lay ahead for the global economic order.
ANALYST’S TAKE: « Trump’s inauguration speech really offered nothing new for investors to latch on, besides harping on old themes of economic ‘carnage’ that will be stopped, » said Mizuho Bank in a report. « His implication that previous U. S. policies did not put America first sounds misguided, and thus any reversal of policy could well prove to be more negative than not, » it said. « The next 100 days would likely keep markets tense on any announcements as his policy platform is likely to see a large discontinuity from previous U. S. policy bias. »
WALL STREET: Major stock indexes pulled back slightly as Trump delivered his first remarks as president on Friday but recovered to end higher, snapping a five-day losing streak for the Dow Jones industrial average. A crop of encouraging company earnings news helped lift the market. The Dow rose 94.85 points, or 0.5 percent, to 19,827.25. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 7.62 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,271.31. The Nasdaq composite index added 15.25 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,555.33. Despite Friday’s gains, the three major stock indexes ended the week lower.
ENERGY: Benchmark U. S. crude gained 9 cents to $53.31 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract jumped $1.10 to close at $53.22. Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 12 cents to $55.61 in London. It soared $1.33 the previous session to close at $55.49.
CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 113.62 yen from Friday’s 114.53. The euro gained to $1.0743 from $1.0702.
