Asian shares fall as Europe enters the US’s trade crosshairs
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slide 0.1% while tensions over tariffs between the US and Europe escalate
Tokyo — Asian shares stepped back from eight-month highs on Wednesday as the IMF lowered its global growth outlook and as tensions over tariffs between the US and Europe escalated. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.1%, a day after it hit eight-month highs while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.9%. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gave up 0.61% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.56%. MSCI’s broadest gauge of the world’s stock markets dipped 0.1% on Wednesday from Tuesday’s six-month peak but it is still almost up 19% from its low marked in December, which was its lowest level in almost two years. Although earnings forecasts have been pegged back recently, share markets have been propped up by hopes of a trade deal between Washington and Beijing and optimism that the Chinese economy may be bottoming out on policy support. “The gap between the strength in global shares and sluggishness in the real economy has been widening,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment st...
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