Twitter
Advertisement

Dollar slips, Asian stocks on defensive after Trump's protectionist address

Trump's officials saiid that his administration's trade strategy would be to protect American jobs with the withdrawal from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.

Latest News
Dollar slips, Asian stocks on defensive after Trump's protectionist address
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

TRENDING NOW

The dollar slipped and Asian shares were on the defensive on Monday as worries about President Donald Trump's protectionist policies outweighed optimism that he will follow through on promises of tax cuts and other stimulus.

Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.3% while shares in South Korea and Australia dropped 0.3%, though dollar-denominated MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat.

US stock futures dipped 0.2%, erasing gains made on Friday.

In his inaugural address, Trump pledged to end what he called an "American carnage" of rusted factories and vowed to put "America first".

"His speech sounded protectionist. It's something markets were already expecting but wasn't really a catalyst for risk-on trading," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management.

Trump also said on Sunday he plans talks soon with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Prior to that, his administration said on his first day in the office that its trade strategy to protect American jobs would start with withdrawal from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact.

"The market is getting nervous about the possibility that the world's trade might shrink," said Koichi Yoshikawa, executive director of financial markets at Standard Chartered Bank in Tokyo.

"Many of his policies, including tax cuts and infrastructure spending, needs approval from the Senate and (may not be) that easy to realise. So it is hard to expect rosy news that would please markets," he added.

"The markets that had been led by expectations on his policy since the election are now the dragged down by the reality," he said.

The dollar had soared late last year on expectations that his pledges to cut taxes and hike infrastructure spending would boost the US economy, but it has since lost steam.

In early Monday trade, the dollar fell 0.7% against the yen to 113.86 yen, edging towards its seven-week low of 112.57 yen touched on Wednesday.

The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0721, its highest level since Dec. 8.

The 10-year US Treasuries yield fell to 2.445%, after having risen briefly on Friday to 2.513%, its highest since Jan. 3.

The two-year yield, which is more sensitive to the Fed's policy outlook, dropped sharply to 1.184% from Thursday's three-week high of 1.250%, giving back much of gains made after Wednesday's upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

The Mexican peso, however, rose 0.3% on Monday to at 21.520 per dollar, after having risen 1.7% on Friday, its biggest gains in two months.

Oil prices held firm after ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC countries said they have made a strong start to lowering their oil output under the first such pact in more than a decade.

International benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to $55.74 per barrel, building on Friday's 2.5% gains. 

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement