Zürcher Nachrichten - Asian stocks drop as tariff fears return, new AI programme emerges

EUR -
AED 3.820598
AFN 77.661495
ALL 98.909854
AMD 412.515034
ANG 1.875336
AOA 950.210229
ARS 1096.228133
AUD 1.654388
AWG 1.874928
AZN 1.777928
BAM 1.954047
BBD 2.100936
BDT 126.427813
BGN 1.956026
BHD 0.391978
BIF 3042.532299
BMD 1.040182
BND 1.403654
BOB 7.19055
BRL 6.038566
BSD 1.040587
BTN 90.980081
BWP 14.441838
BYN 3.405278
BYR 20387.566856
BZD 2.090125
CAD 1.488838
CDF 2969.719622
CHF 0.937532
CLF 0.026312
CLP 1009.725368
CNY 7.563267
CNH 7.574064
COP 4344.392862
CRC 528.026373
CUC 1.040182
CUP 27.564823
CVE 110.519331
CZK 25.175942
DJF 184.860869
DKK 7.459967
DOP 64.543755
DZD 140.606567
EGP 52.340186
ERN 15.60273
ETB 132.959638
FJD 2.401266
FKP 0.85668
GBP 0.83177
GEL 2.906167
GGP 0.85668
GHS 16.028985
GIP 0.85668
GMD 74.89308
GNF 9002.775012
GTQ 8.044861
GYD 217.694733
HKD 8.099528
HNL 26.51647
HRK 7.676073
HTG 136.109222
HUF 406.221964
IDR 16961.207406
ILS 3.679467
IMP 0.85668
INR 90.843618
IQD 1362.638397
IRR 43791.661707
ISK 146.800855
JEP 0.85668
JMD 164.314194
JOD 0.7379
JPY 158.648039
KES 134.183701
KGS 90.964273
KHR 4181.531467
KMF 491.95355
KPW 936.1639
KRW 1503.832993
KWD 0.320854
KYD 0.86711
KZT 537.879779
LAK 22603.154688
LBP 93148.296628
LKR 310.654337
LRD 204.967949
LSL 19.321369
LTL 3.071387
LVL 0.629195
LYD 5.112529
MAD 10.410921
MDL 19.478248
MGA 4880.622202
MKD 61.530145
MMK 3378.470504
MNT 3534.538488
MOP 8.346813
MRU 41.737293
MUR 48.577847
MVR 16.02896
MWK 1805.755946
MXN 21.403778
MYR 4.600204
MZN 66.478289
NAD 19.321367
NGN 1557.88289
NIO 38.296018
NOK 11.674524
NPR 145.570427
NZD 1.82812
OMR 0.400463
PAB 1.040567
PEN 3.862573
PGK 4.176294
PHP 60.219258
PKR 290.210744
PLN 4.201504
PYG 8198.606643
QAR 3.787817
RON 4.976443
RSD 117.094316
RUB 101.936364
RWF 1447.880408
SAR 3.900849
SBD 8.815735
SCR 14.964251
SDG 625.138829
SEK 11.346279
SGD 1.402597
SHP 0.85668
SLE 23.818865
SLL 21812.095998
SOS 594.463975
SRD 36.515603
STD 21529.666918
SVC 9.104921
SYP 13524.446121
SZL 19.15494
THB 34.908422
TJS 11.357513
TMT 3.651039
TND 3.305635
TOP 2.43621
TRY 37.355983
TTD 7.047678
TWD 34.169664
TZS 2649.893797
UAH 43.309968
UGX 3829.601758
USD 1.040182
UYU 45.27982
UZS 13512.009961
VES 61.77274
VND 26183.980953
VUV 123.492494
WST 2.91337
XAF 655.359708
XAG 0.032145
XAU 0.000363
XCD 2.811144
XDR 0.798092
XOF 655.375445
XPF 119.331742
YER 258.953635
ZAR 19.280319
ZMK 9362.887837
ZMW 29.160843
ZWL 334.938174
  • RBGPF

    0.2700

    66.27

    +0.41%

  • BCC

    -0.8200

    124.75

    -0.66%

  • RELX

    0.9100

    50.77

    +1.79%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    7.5

    +1.33%

  • SCS

    0.2500

    11.56

    +2.16%

  • RIO

    0.1700

    61.37

    +0.28%

  • NGG

    0.8100

    62.67

    +1.29%

  • CMSC

    0.1600

    23.5

    +0.68%

  • BCE

    0.5000

    24.9

    +2.01%

  • JRI

    0.1900

    12.83

    +1.48%

  • CMSD

    0.1400

    23.82

    +0.59%

  • AZN

    1.9750

    70.935

    +2.78%

  • VOD

    0.0700

    8.27

    +0.85%

  • GSK

    2.8600

    37.7

    +7.59%

  • BP

    0.0300

    31.67

    +0.09%

  • BTI

    0.8700

    41.1

    +2.12%

Asian stocks drop as tariff fears return, new AI programme emerges
Asian stocks drop as tariff fears return, new AI programme emerges / Photo: Jim WATSON, Yuri CORTEZ - AFP/File

Asian stocks drop as tariff fears return, new AI programme emerges

Asian markets mostly fell Monday on fresh trade fears after Donald Trump's threat to impose huge tariffs on Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights from the United States.

Text size:

Traders were also assessing the impact of a new, cheaper Chinese generative AI programme amid claims it can outperform big-name rivals and worries that a recent surge in the sector may be called into question.

Equities enjoyed a healthy run-up last week on the hope that Trump 2.0 will take a less hardball approach to global trade as he held off imposing stiff levies on China and other partners immediately on taking office, as he warned he would.

His comments that he would "rather not" hit Beijing, and a signal of openness to a trade deal added to the optimistic tone.

However, news Sunday that he would hit Colombian goods with a 25 percent tariff -- rising to 50 percent next week -- and revoke the visas of government officials set off alarm bells.

The move came after President Gustavo Petro blocked deportation flights from the United States.

In response to Trump's decision, Petro initially announced retaliatory levies of 25 percent on imports from the United States.

But Bogota later backed down and agreed to accept the deported citizens, with Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo saying they had "overcome the impasse".

"Actions speak louder than words. The situation with Colombia just shows how little it takes for Trump to use tariffs as a negotiation tool," said Dane Cekov at Sparebank 1 Markets.

Traders were already gearing up for a big week that will see the Federal Reserve hold its first policy meeting of the year.

While it is widely expected to hold rates, investors will be keeping a close eye on its statement and comments from Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell.

There is a concern that Trump's pledges to impose tariffs while slashing taxes, immigration and regulations could reignite inflation and force the central bank to pause its rate cuts or even hike them again.

- Eyes on DeepSeek -

The move against Colombia sent the dollar up against most of its peers, piling on around one percent against the Mexican peso. Gold, a safe haven in times of uncertainty, was sitting just shy of its record high.

"This pivotal week kicks off in Asia, setting the stage for a global market spectacle intensely focused on the unfolding of... Trump's economic agenda amidst key inflation reports and anticipated Fed guidance," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.

He added that markets were bracing for "a torrent of earnings reports from companies constituting nearly 40 percent of the S&P 500's market capitalisation".

"Their outcomes could either amplify the recent bullish surge or instigate a reevaluation of market sentiments."

All three main indexes on Wall Street fell Friday, with the S&P 500 off a record high on profit-taking and as tech firms took a hit following the launch of the DeepSeek AI programme last week.

The firm said only $5.6 million was spent developing the model.

The programme's arrival has sparked competition fears, as tech titans -- including Nvidia, Meta and Alphabet -- have made huge investments worth hundreds of billions of dollars into AI products and sent their valuations soaring.

It also came on the heels of Trump's announcement of a new $500 billion venture to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence in the United States.

Tech and chip firms were among the big losers in Tokyo as the Nikkei ended in negative territory, with Advantest down more than eight percent and Tokyo Electron off almost five percent.

SoftBank, which is a key investor in Trump's AI project, tumbled more than eight percent.

"What we've found is that DeepSeek... is the top performing, or roughly on par with the best American models," Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, told CNBC.

There were also losses in Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila but Hong Kong rose.

- Key figures around 0710 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 39,565.80 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 20,201.14

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,250.60 (close)

Dollar/yen: UP at 156.11 yen from 155.93 yen on Friday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0458 from $1.0500

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2451 from $1.2484

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.99 pence from 84.06 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $74.12 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $77.95 per barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,424.25 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 8,502.35 (close)

R.Schmid--NZN