Asian stocks lower after weaker lead from Wall Street

Asia markets traded lower on Friday, following a weak dynamic from Wall Street and as market players assessed a potential block of Trump’s tax reform by the GOP Senate.

Australia ASX -18.10 -0.30% 6,104.30 CLOSED

Shanghai Comp +4.88 +0.14% 3,432.67 CLOSED

Hang Seng Index +14.00 +0.05% 29,150.57 CLOSED

Nikkei 225 -187.29 -0.82% 22,681.42 CLOSED

TSEC 50 Index -10.60 -0.10% 10,732.67 CLOSED

Senate Republicans are currently reviewing the administration’s tax bill. Reports showed on Thursday that some GOP members are thinking of delaying the corporate tax cuts for 2019.

Trump’s tax reform promise has played a key role in the election and speculation over the issue has been behind this year’s Wall Street rally.

Earlier in today’s session, investors heard a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping on the value of international cooperation and economic openness in Vietnam.

His speech at the at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit came after President Donald Trump, who is now on tour in the region, accused China of “chronic trade abuses”.

“I don’t blame China, I blame the incompetence of past Admins for allowing China to take advantage of the US on trade leading up to a point where the US is losing hundreds of billions.”

On the corporate front, Japanese technology giant Toshiba dropped up to 4.47 percent in the session following a disappointing third-quarter earnings report. According to news agencies, Toshiba is considering raising about 600 billion yen in capital through new shares offerings.

Steel manufacturer Kobe Steel said findings from an investigation into data falsification inside the company will soon be released. Shares of Kobe rose by more than 2 percent.

Worth mentioning that Tencent-backed search engine Sogou made its way up to the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, adding more than 10 percent in the first day.

On the data front, traders will be paying attention to trade figures as well as industrial and manufacturing production from the UK as of 09:30 GMT. In the United States, focus will be at Michigan’s consumer sentiment for November at 15:00 GMT and the Fed budget at 18:00 GMT.

Fort Financial Services