Asian stocks fall after Trump's tariff announcement

• Asian stocks declined following Trump's new tariffs.
• U.S. stocks ended lower after a surge in tech shares.
• Large tech companies continue to demonstrate growth.

Manila, Philippines — Asian stocks fell on Friday after Trump's announcement of new tariffs, where investors assessed the president's directive, which imposes new tariffs on 68 countries and the European Union starting September 8.

Trump's directive, which delays the implementation of tariffs from September 1, adds a new layer of uncertainty to the already complicated process.

The Japanese index Nikkei 225 fell 0.4% to 40,914.66, while the South Korean Kospi dropped 2.8% to 3,154.53.

The Hong Kong Hang Seng index decreased 0.2% to 24,726.38, while the Chinese Shanghai Composite fell 0.1% to 3,570.21.

The Australian S&P ASX 200 dropped 0.8% to 8,676.80, the Indian BSE Sensex fell 0.4% to 81,185.58, and the Taiwanese TAIEX decreased 0.4% to 23,453.56.

Benjamín Picón, senior strategist at Rabo Bank, noted that "futures for U.S. and European stocks indicate a negative trend, while Asian stocks are experiencing declines, and the DXY index continues to rise."

He also added that "the U.S. is gathering sectors with high added value for its economy, simultaneously forcing trading partners to provide advantages for their exports and supply them with cheaper imports."

On Wall Street, stocks again closed lower following earlier gains by large tech companies, while declines in the healthcare sector revealed a drop in the market overall.

The S&P 500 index fell 0.4%, marking its third consecutive decline. This index, which is just below its record high established in late July, has recorded a 2.2% increase in July and an 8% rise since the start of the year.

The Dow Jones index decreased by 0.7%, while the Nasdaq closed down less than 0.1%.

Approximately 70% of the stocks in the S&P 500 experienced declines, with the largest drag on the market coming from companies in the healthcare sector.

Healthcare company stocks fell after the Bill of Health released a letter, in which it requested major pharmaceutical companies to lower prices and implement other changes over the next 60 days.

Shares of Eli Lilly & Co. fell 2.6%, UnitedHealth Group dropped 6.2%, and Bristol-Myers Squibb decreased by 5.8%.

The growth of some large tech stocks helped soften the overall market drop.

Meta Platforms shares rose 11.3% after the parent company of Facebook and Instagram exceeded sales and profit projections, despite the fact that the company continues to invest billions in artificial intelligence.

Microsoft rose 3.9% after reporting better-than-expected results. The company also provided investors with positive information about its Azure platform, which is a central element of the company's artificial intelligence ecosystem.

On other markets on Friday, the price of standard American crude fell 5 cents to $69.21 a barrel, while the price of Brent crude dropped 3 cents to $71.67 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 150.68 Japanese yen from 150.67 yen. The euro rose to $1.1418 from $1.1421.

Tags: Economy