Chinese markets decline on escalating trade war

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday as Sino-U.S. trade tensions simmered and the U.S. government shutdown entered its 13th day, with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicting that the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history.

Markets also braced for earnings from Wall Street's biggest banks and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's keynote speech on the U.S. economic outlook and monetary policy.

Chinese and Hong Kong markets fell as the United States and China launched a new round of retaliatory measures by imposing mutual port fees on each other's shipping firms, escalating trading war and impacting global maritime industry.

 

After U.S. President Donald Trump expressed shock at China's "surprising" move to unleash sweeping export controls on rare earths and accused the country of "becoming very hostile", Beijing said it was Washington's expansion of curbs on Chinese firms that ratcheted up tensions.

China's Shanghai Composite index dipped 0.62 percent to 3,865.23 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 1.73 percent to 25,441.35.

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