Investing.com – Asian equities were mixed in a choppy session on Thursday as technology shares continued to slide amid potential regulatory crackdown on data privacy and antitrust concerns.
Overnight, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, while the Dow and the Nasdaq fell 0.1% and 0.9% respectively. Gains in consumer staples and healthcare were offset by a sharp decline in Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and other major technology shares.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained as much as 1% in morning trade, but gave up some of its gain in the afternoon session and traded 0.02% higher at 1:09AM ET (05:09 GMT). A weaker yen was cited as supportive. Japan’s February retail sales rose 1.6% compared to last year, slightly lower than the expected 1.7% increase. The country’s deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso ruled out the possibility of a bilateral trade deal with the U.S., adding that such deal would bring no benefits to Japan.
"When two countries negotiate, the stronger country gets stronger" and would only create "unnecessary" pain for Japan, Aso told parliament. "We've been saying all along that we would definitely avoid bilateral trade deals with the United States,” said Aso. Japan has been reportedly pushing for exemptions from U.S. tariffs in recent weeks.
"Japan only exports special steel products in which it has outstanding market share and U.S. companies cannot produce," Aso said. "If U.S. companies want these products, they need to buy them from Japan. It will be U.S. companies that suffer."
Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.2% higher while the SZSE Component remained flat. The country’s commerce ministry said on Thursday that the U.S. must withdraw from its unilateralism as its approach on trade represented a Cold War attitude and could trigger a domino effect.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.4% lower. Trading remained subdued with investors wrapping up ahead of the Easter holiday.
Elsewhere, the KOSPI traded 0.1% higher in afternoon trade. Hyundai Glovis (KS:086280) surged 7.1% while Hyundai Mobis (KS:012330) plunged as much as 6% earlier in the day following reports that Hyundai Motor Group is planning an ownership restructuring.
Down under, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% after swinging in and out of positive territory during the morning.