Japan's Nikkei closes lower after Trump pledges fresh tariffs

Fujikura

26/11/2024 07:08

(Updates for market close)
    By Brigid Riley
       TOKYO, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
declined on Tuesday as the market weighed U.S. President-elect
Donald Trump's pledge to impose tariffs on all imports from
Canada and Mexico, along with additional tariffs on China.
        The Nikkei index  .N225  closed 0.9% lower at 38,442,
after sliding nearly 2% during morning trade. The broader Topix
 .TOPX  finished about 1% at 2,689.55.
    Trump said on Monday that on his first day in office he
would impose a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada
and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, citing
concerns over illegal immigration and trade of illicit drugs.
    Of the Nikkei's 225 constituents, 147 declined while 75
advanced, with losses narrowing in afternoon trade as investors
digested the news. Three shares were untraded.
    "Ten percent across the board (for China) is not as big as
the one that he was talking about, 60%. But it still came in a
more concrete way, so I think the initial reaction was rather
negative," Nomura's chief macro strategist Naka Matsuzawa said.
    The 25% tariff plans on imports from Canada and Mexico were
probably bigger than the market expected, he added.
    Chip-related stocks led losses, with Advantest  6857.T  down
4.3% to become the biggest drag on the Nikkei. Tokyo Electron
 8035.T  tumbled 2.1%.
        Microchip equipment maker Lasertec Corp  6920.T  was one
of the biggest percentage losers with a 5.5% drop, behind
electronics component maker Fujikura  5803.T , down 6.8%.
    Major automakers also slid, with Toyota Motor  7203.T  and
Honda Motor  7267.T  slipping 1% and 1.9%, respectively.
    The machinery sector lost 1.4%. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
 7011.T  stumbled 3.3%, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries  7012.T 
shed 5.4%.
    Shares of IHI  7013.T  were down 4.9%, with news that
Japan's space agency has halted an engine combustion test of its
Epsilon S rocket after a fire broke out at the test site also
weighing on sentiment.
    

 (Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Sherry
Jacob-Phillips and Janane Venkatraman)
 ((brigid.riley@thomsonreuters.com;))