TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks were shaky while major currencies barely budged in early trade on Thursday, as financial markets remained in a state of anxious uncertainty on the eve of a U.S. deadline to slap tariffs on Chinese imports.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent, having moved in and out of the red in early trade. The index has lost 1.6 percent this week, during which it plumbed a nine-month low.
Asia was bereft of the usual leads as the U.S. markets were closed on Wednesday for the Independence Day holiday.
U.S. stock futures were marginally higher, pointing to a stronger open for Wall Street later in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.15 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.2 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was off 0.2 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.1 percent.
“The markets lack strong direction without incentives from the United States, where their markets were closed yesterday. Moves by Chinese shares and the yuan remain a key factor in the meantime,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management in Tokyo.
The United States plans to implement tariffs on $50 billion worth of imports from China as both nations remained locked in a bitter trade dispute that has convulsed global financial markets in recent weeks.
On July 6, tariffs on $34 billion worth of imports will take effect, and Beijing has promised to retaliate in kind.
However, China’s finance ministry did say on Wednesday that it will “absolutely not” fire the first shot in a trade war with the United States
