Stocks in Asia were lower overnight, with the Nikkei (^N225) down 0.9% on the day in Japan as the Tokyo CPI print for September showed a downside surprise of +2.5% in the headline CPI (vs. +2.8% expected).
However, this was partly because the government expanded the entitlement for free childcare, and that was a policy specific to Tokyo that won’t apply nationwide.
Meanwhile the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 1.3% in Hong Kong, and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.7% down by the end of the session. In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) slumped 2.5% on the day, one of its worst days in nearly two months.
Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 0.5%, posting a third consecutive decline for the first time in a month, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was also 0.5% lower.
The Dow Jones (^DJI) also slipped 0.4% on the day as president Donald Trump announced a new set of sectoral tariffs.
The decline on Thursday was a broad-based one, and there were bigger falls for the Magnificent 7 (-0.95%) and the small-cap Russell 2000 (-0.98%). Sentiment also wasn't helped by the prospect of a government shutdown next week, as funding is due to expire on 30 September, and there’s still no sign of a breakthrough between Republicans and Democrats.
Elsewhere, from 1 October, the US will impose a 100% rate on branded or patented pharmaceutical products, 50% on kitchen cabinets, 30% on upholstered furniture, and 25% on heavy trucks.
