Asia markets fell on Thursday, following an overnight mixed session in the U.S. as renewed trade concerns offset strong gains in tech.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dumped 243.17 points, or 1%, to 22,512.53. The Japanese yen traded at 111.61 to the U.S. dollar while the Australian dollar fetched $0.7388.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng tumbled 626.18 points, or 2.2%, to 27,714.56,
Australian markets went downward, as the materials subindex fell 2.2%. Major mining names declined, with shares of Rio Tinto lower by 4.9%, Fortescue Metals down 1.8% and BHP lost 3.3%.
On Wednesday, Rio Tinto said its first-half profit rose 12% but that missed analyst estimates. The global miner also announced plans to buy back an additional $1 billion in shares, aiming for completion by the end of February 2019.
The heavily-weighted financial subindex was also down 0.3% as major banking names saw some declines. The National Australia Bankfell 0.6%.
Analysts at Singapore's OCBC Bank said in a note that they expect Asian currencies to "remain pressured" following the renewed concerns over U.S.-China trade.
In corporate news, Singapore's largest lender DBS Group reported a 20% jump in net profit for its second-quarter earnings, but that number missed market expectations. The bank's net profit came in at 1.37 billion Singapore dollars ($1 billion) in the three months ending June, versus an estimate of S$1.47 billion.
DBS shares were down 2% in afternoon trade.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 dropped 76.43 points, or 2.2%, to 3,370.96
The Trump administration announced it is looking at the possibility of slapping a 25% tariff on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods — from the initial 10% announced earlier.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 42.63 points, or 1.3%, to 3,286.32
In Taiwan, the Taiex index regressed 168.36 points, or 1.5%, to 10,929.77
In Korea, the Kospi index reversed 36.87 points, or 1.6%, to 2,270.20
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 faded 10.76 points, or 0.1%, to 8,849.16
In Australia, the ASX 200 subtracted 34.85 points, or 0.6%, to 6,240.86
