Malaysia central bank, Trump tariff concerns

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday, with China stocks declining after President Donald Trump’s comments on imposing a 10% tariff on China.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.36%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.48%, and the Topix rose 0.94%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.75% while the Kosdaq traded 0.91% higher.

Shares in several Korean tech stocks rallied with SK Hynix and LG Electronics leading gains by 2.52% and 3.2% respectively.

This follows reports on Korean firms considering moving their production plants from Mexico to the U.S. following Trump’s protectionist policies.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 1.31%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.87%.

Trump said that his team was discussing a 10% tariff on China and that the duty could take effect as early as Feb. 1.

Investors will be looking out for Malaysia’s central bank policy meeting today, where the Bank Negara Malaysia is expected to keep its policy rate steady at 3%.

Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages advanced as investors viewed Trump’s comments around international trade as a bit softer than expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 537.98 points, or 1.24%, to finish at 44,025.81. The S&P 500 gained 0.88% to end at 6,049.24, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.64% to 19,756.78.

Trump said he was considering 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Feb. 1 because of their border policies while signing first-day executive orders in the White House Monday night. He also mentioned China, noting that the U.S. could put tariffs on the country if it doesn’t approve a TikTok deal.

—CNBC’s Alex Harring and Brian Evans contributed to this report.