Asian Markets Dip Following Wall Street Decline Amid Trade Policy Concerns

Stock markets across Asia experienced mixed results Tuesday morning after Wall Street dropped overnight. Investor confidence was shaken by uncertainty surrounding President Trump's trade policies and rising global tensions.

Stock exchanges throughout Asia showed unsteady performance during Tuesday’s opening hours following a decline on Wall Street that left investors on edge, as concerns mounted over President Donald Trump’s trade policies and increasing international tensions.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific index, excluding Japanese stocks, shifted from positive territory into negative ground after a six-day upward streak, closing down 0.2% with South Korean markets leading the decline.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 bucked the trend, climbing 0.7% as trading resumed following a holiday break. S&P 500 electronic mini futures showed a modest 0.1% increase.

Market analysts from Bernstein explained in their research note that stock market strength “has been under pressure with increased concerns around the AI trade and escalation in geopolitical and trade uncertainty.”

President Trump issued warnings Monday to nations considering withdrawal from recently completed trade agreements with the United States, following the Supreme Court’s rejection of his emergency tariffs. He threatened to impose significantly higher duties through alternative trade legislation.

The administration’s new tariff approach relies on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, creating additional market confusion as investors struggle to understand U.S. protectionist strategies.

Monday’s U.S. trading session saw the S&P 500 fall 1.0%, wiping out gains from the previous week, while concerns about artificial intelligence’s impact on software and related sectors drove the Nasdaq Composite down 1.1%. A pessimistic analysis from Citrini Research regarding potential global economic risks further dampened already nervous investor attitudes.

The CBOE Volatility Index, known as the VIX, increased 1.9 percentage points to reach 21.01.

Both Japanese and Chinese markets reopened Tuesday after holiday closures, boosting regional trading volume. The U.S. dollar strengthened 0.1% against the yen to 154.77, while China’s yuan held steady at 6.889 in overseas trading.

Federal Reserve futures indicate a 95.5% likelihood that the central bank will maintain current rates during its March 18 two-day meeting, according to CME Group’s FedWatch monitoring system.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 0.6 basis points to 4.029% as market participants evaluated how the Supreme Court ruling might affect federal tax collections.

Commodity markets saw WTI crude oil slip 0.1% to $66.23 amid ongoing U.S.-Iran tensions. The State Department announced Monday it would withdraw non-essential staff and eligible family members from the U.S. embassy in Lebanon due to growing military conflict concerns.

Market uncertainty drove safe-haven gold prices up 0.3% to $5,244.96, while silver decreased 0.1% to $88.12.

In cryptocurrency trading, Bitcoin gained 0.4% to $64,832.48, while Ethereum fell 0.1% to $1,861.22.