Stocks in Asia declined on Thursday as investors remained cautious after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed China "broke the deal" in the ongoing trade negotiations.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell another 200.46 points, or 0.9%, to 21,402.13. Shares of automaker Honda Motor fell 4.7% despite the company forecasting a 6% increase in operating profit for the current fiscal year.
The Japanese yen, widely seen as a safe-haven currency, traded at 109.80 against the U.S. dollar from levels around 110.9 seen earlier in the trading week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index collapsed 692.13 points, or 2.4%, to 28,311.07
Korean markets plunged by their biggest one day percentage loss since mid-October 2018. Shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics dropped 4.1% and chipmaker SK Hynix plunged 5.4%
The Australian dollar was at $0.6974 U.S. after slipping from levels above $0.7 yesterday.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 index slumped 67.76 points, or 1.9%, to 3,599.70
Addressing his supporters at a rally in Florida, Trump blamed Beijing for the breakdown in trade talks which led to his recent threat to increase tariffs.
"By the way, you see the tariffs we're doing? Because they broke the deal. They broke the deal," Trump said. "So they're flying in, the vice premier tomorrow is flying in — good man — but they broke the deal. They can't do that, so they'll be paying."
Markets have been rattled for much of this week after Trump said in a Twitter post Sunday that the U.S. would raise tariffs on Chinese goods as soon as Friday, a move that was unexpected by investors who had priced in the possibility of a trade deal being reached between the two economic powerhouses.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index fell 66 points, or 3%, to 2,102.01
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index slipped 14.14 points, or 0.4%, to 3,269.70
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index slumbered 190.04 points to 1.7%, to 10,733.67
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 41.3 points, or 0.4% to 10,104.35
In Australia, the ASK 200 pointed upward 26.18 points, or 0.4%, to 6,295.33
