Global stocks trade lower on concern over Trump’s push on Greenland

Asian shares were mostly lower Tuesday after US markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday. US future were down sharply after most European benchmarks sank on Monday. Oil prices were flat.

World shares took a hit after US President Donald Trump threatened to slap a 10 per cent extra tariff on imports from eight European countries, provoking a backlash from important trading partners that invest heavily in the US.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.1 per cent to 52,988.24 after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called a snap election for Feb. 8.

The yields on Japan government bonds have been surging after Takaichi indicated she planned to dissolve parliament and hold an election, aiming to capitalize on her strong public opinion ratings. She also has proposed temporarily suspending the food tax.

Expectations that Takaichi will take a renewed electoral mandate to raise government spending have revived worries over Japan’s national finances, pushing the yield sharply higher, while prices of such investments declined.

The yield on the 40-year government bond surged to a record 4 per cent on Tuesday, while yields on other long-term bonds also have surging to decades-high levels. Chinese markets also declined.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged down less than 0.1 per cent to 26,552.57, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3 per cent to 4,101.62. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.3 per cent to 4,921.42, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6 per cent to 8,818.10. Taiwan’s Taiex edged 0.1 per cent higher and the Sensex in India was unchanged.

This week will bring more corporate earnings in the US and an update on inflation preferred by the Federal Reserve for making policy decisions. The US Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is in two weeks. It’s expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged, as it strives to balance a slowing jobs market with inflation, which remains above the Fed’s 2 per cent goal.

The Bank of Japan has a monetary policy board meeting ending later this week. Germany’s DAX lost 1.3 per cent to close at 24,960.33 and the CAC 40 in Paris fell 1.9 per cent to 8,101.96. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.4 per cent to 10,190.26.

Among US stock futures, the S&P 500 was down 1 per cent early Tuesday, while the contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.9 per cent. Trump said Saturday that he would charge a 10 per cent import tax starting in February on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland because of their opposition to American control of Greenland.

The European countries targeted by Trump blasted his threat to raise tariffs, saying they “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.” In other dealings early Tuesday, US benchmark crude oil rose 4 cents to $59.38 per barrel.

Brent crude, the international standard, added 12 cents to $64.06 a barrel. The US dollar slipped to 157.98 Japanese yen from 158.14 yen. The euro rose to $1.1658, inching up from $1.1645.