Asian shares find relief with hopes of smaller tariffs

Asian Stock Markets

Asian shares found relief on Thursday as fears about a global trade war amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to introduce protectionist tariffs were tempered by signs the move could include carve-outs for key partners. 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.9 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI led the region with rise of 1.2 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei .N225 gained 0.8 percent. 

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 .SPX ended down just 0.05 percent at 2,726.8 after an initial loss of almost one percent, with tech shares being a major bright spot. 

They erased most losses as White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told a media briefing that the impending hefty U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could exclude Canada, Mexico and a clutch of other countries. 

That soothed worries that the Trump Administration could lean more toward protectionist policies after the departure of his top economic adviser Gary Cohn. 

A White House official said on Wednesday Trump plans to offer Canada and Mexico a 30-day exemption from planned tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which could be extended based on progress in NAFTA talks. 

Trump was expected to sign a presidential proclamation to establish the tariffs during a ceremony on Thursday, but a White House official said later it could slide into Friday because documents had to be cleared through a legal process. 

Investors worry that the U.S. tariff could trigger a trade war, shrink the global trade, and eventually squeeze corporate profits that have so far benefited from strong global growth. 

Highlighting the strength of the global economy, Chinese trade data showed both exports and imports rose more than 20 percent in dollar terms from a year earlier in the first two months of this year.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar stabilized against other major currencies after its recent hit from fears about the tariff plan while the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar recovered from their steep losses. 

The euro EUR= traded flat at $1.2402, having risen to $1.2447 on Wednesday, its highest levels since Feb. 16. The common currency has been rising since it had hit a seven-week low of $1.21545 hit on Thursday, when Trump unveiled his tariff plan. 

The European Central Bank is all but certain to keep policy unchanged on Thursday but may tweak its communication stance to offer at least a few clues about its progress toward ending its unprecedented bond purchases later this year. 

Japan’s financial regulator punished seven cryptocurrency exchanges, suspending business at the two of them, in an effort to shore up consumer protection after the $530 million theft of digital money from Tokyo-based Coincheck.