Asian Stocks Down as Investors Await Trump Action

By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Asian stocks ended the week as well as the month of May on a mostly down note as tensions between the U.S. and China continue to rise, reducing investor risk appetite.

U.S. President Donald Trump will unveil his response to China’s national security laws for Hong Kong and Macau at a press conference later in the day. China passed a resolution to impose the laws in Hong Kong as it closed the National People’s Congress yesterday.

“We’ll be announcing what we’re doing tomorrow with respect to China. And we are not happy with China...” Trump said on Thursday.

In the U.K., Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Thursday that his government will set 300,000 Hong Kong residents holding British National Overseas (BNO) passports on the path to citizenship.

China has vowed to retaliate against any U.S. response to the laws.

“Tensions between the US and Chinese governments over a security law for Hong Kong continue to escalate,” Joseph Capurso, head of international economics at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY), said in a note.

“We consider the tensions between these two governments over Hong Kong, trade, the coronavirus and the South China sea will not fade.”

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.51% by 10:24 PM ET (3:24 AM GMT).

China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.12% and the Shenzhen Component gained 0.47%. Premier Li Keqiang announced a massive CNY 4 trillion ($558.99 billion) rescue package, the largest in the country’s history, for factories and merchants on Thursday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.36% and South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 0.23%.

Down Under, the ASX 200 slipped 1.29%.

Meanwhile, investors will also look for clues on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next move later in the day in Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments during a virtual discussion.