Asia-Pacific markets rise despite fall in Wall Street following escalation in Trump’s tariff threats

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Friday despite the plunge in all three benchmarks in the U.S. over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.

In another sign of a trade war escalation, Trump threatened to enact 200% tariffs on all alcoholic products coming from the European Union in retaliation for the bloc’s 50% tariff on whiskey. Trump said he would not be changing his mind on a broader group of tariffs set to be implemented on April 2.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200

 gained 0.35%, reversing course from losses in the previous session.

Over in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.18% while the broader Topix index gained 0.29%.

South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.21% in choppy trade while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced by 1.72%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index began the day 1.1% higher while Mainland China’s CSI 300 reversed course from losses in its previous session to rise 0.97%.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.39% to settle at 5,521.52. The index ended the day in correction, 10.1% off its record close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 537.36 points, or 1.3%, marking its fourth day of declines and closing at 40,813.57. The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.96% with shares of Tesla and Apple lower.

The disorderly rollout of Trump’s U.S. trade policy has rattled markets this month. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are respectively on track for losses of 4.3% and 4.9% week to date. The Dow is off about 4.7% in the period, tracking for its worst week since June 2022.