Tokyo — Asian shares found relief on Thursday as the fear about a global trade war amid US President Donald Trump’s push to introduce protectionist tariffs was tempered by signs the move could include carve-outs for key partners. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.9%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the region with rise of 1.2%. In Japan, the Nikkei gained 0.8%. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended down just 0.05% at 2,726.8 after an initial loss of almost 1%, with tech shares being a major bright spot. They erased most losses as White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told a media briefing that the impending hefty US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports could exclude Canada, Mexico and a clutch of other countries. That soothed the concern that the Trump Administration could lean more towards protectionist policies after the departure of his top economic adviser Gary Cohn. "Concerns about the US tariff should ease today following the comments from the White Hou...
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