Investing.com - Asian markets eased on Friday as President Donald Trump surprised investors with comments on an existing free trade pact with Seoul to calling for payments for a sophisticated anti-missile system no on South Korean soil.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index, initially in the green, dipped 0.06% on news that Trump was threatening to terminate a trade agreement with the country. Trump also warned that conflict with North Korea was possible, even though he said he preferred peaceful resolution more.
USD/KRW fell more than 1% to 1,131.60 after Trump's remarks, with the greenback fetching 1,132.60 won.
Meanwhile, shares of Hyundai Motors fell to trade 2% lower on concerns about auto exports to the U.S.. Korean retailers were also hit, with Lotte Himart off 2.3% and E-mart dropping by 2.13%.
The Nikkei 225 inched down by 0.18%despite trading slightly higher after the release of key economic data earlier in the day. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.19% and the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.27%, while Hang Seng Index was down 0.23%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, as investors piled into equities, after better than expected earnings but gains were capped by the release of mostly downbeat economic data.
Wall Street turned positive in late-afternoon trade, after bullish pending Home Sales data lifted sentiment but weaker than expected Initial Jobless Claims and Durable data weighed on upside momentum.
The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday, its Pending Home Sales Index, declined 0.8 percent to 111.4. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 257,000 for the week ended April 22, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, new orders for U.S. durable goods rose 0.7 percent in March, which was far less than the 2.3 percent rise in February and well below expectations for a 1.2 percent increase.
The Nasdaq closed at record highs, as investors piled into tech stocks ahead of earnings from Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Baidu, GoPro, and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). In corporate earnings news, Under Armour Inc A (NYSE:NYSE:UAA)posted its first ever earnings loss on Thursday but shares of Under Armour close more than 10% higher, as the retailer’s first quarter results were not as weak as analysts had feared.
Meanwhile, tech giants Alphabet, Intel, Amazon, and Microsoft posted better than expected earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.03% higher at 20,981. The S&P 500 gained 0.03% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.39% to close at 6048.94.