Markets shrug off new round of US tariffs

STI loses 2.06 points after recovering from earlier sell-off, with a similar rebound in HK and China

Published Tue, Sep 18, 2018 · 09:50 PM

US President Donald Trump raised a ruckus by thumping China with yet another round of tariffs, but most Asian markets merely yawned by the closing bell on Tuesday.

Singapore stocks edged down only slightly, with the Straits Times Index (STI) retreating 2.06 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 3,139.34.

The benchmark index however did reach an intraday low of 3,110.79 in early morning trade. This came on the back of news that Mr Trump had ratcheted up the pressure on China, slapping new tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports, along with a threat to impose further tariffs should China retaliate.