Sydney — Asian stocks stepped back from near eight-month highs on Thursday and the dollar eased as European and US central banks reinforced investor worries about the global economic outlook and trade protectionism. In a fresh escalation of trade tensions, US President Donald Trump has threatened new tariffs on goods from the EU even as the Sino-US trade dispute remains unresolved. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.3% after four straight days of gains took it to the highest since August 2018. Chinese shares were subdued with the blue-chip CSI300 off 1% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stumbled 0.6%. Australian shares also lost ground, pressured by political uncertainty after the country’s prime minister called a national election for May 18. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.3% as the yen strengthened. “It has been another mixed day in the market with investors still searching for the next push one way or the other and the majority of products are trading at ...
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