Markets in Asia traded cautiously on Wednesday morning despite the S&P 500 touching a new record overnight stateside, with global trade concerns weighing on investor sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 slipped 0.24% in early trade, while the Topix fell 0.54%.
South Korea’s Kospi, on the other hand, added 0.11%. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 traded largely flat.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 added 0.3% to post a new record closing high of 2,973.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 69.25 points higher at 26,786.68, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to end its trading day stateside at 8,109.09.
The gains in stocks were capped by concerns that the U.S. could bring its tariff threat to Europe. Washington on Monday threatened to impose tariffs on $4 billion of additional European Union goods in a long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies.
The new wave of proposed duties comes amid a 15-year dispute at the World Trade Organization over aircraft subsidies given to U.S. aerospace manufacturer Boeing and its European rival, Airbus.
On the U.S-China front, however, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed not to impose new tariffs on each other’s goods after the two met at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
In a speech given Tuesday, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned that existing trade tensions could “shipwreck the global economy or prove to be a tempest in a teacup. ”
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.720 after touching lows around 96.6 yesterday.
The Japanese yen traded at 107.77 against the dollar after strengthening from levels above 108.0 in the previous session, while the Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6991 after rising from the $0.696 handle yesterday.
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asian trading hours, bouncing back from the Tuesday tumble. International benchmark Brent crude futures added 0.54% to $62.74 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures gained 0.46% to $56.51 per barrel.