South Korea's Kospi in bear market as Trump's country-specific tariffs kick into high gear

The yen defied broader market move to strengthen 0.75% while several Asian currencies weakened to multi-year lows after Trump tariffs came into effect.

The Korean won fell to its lowest since 2009 at 1,484.1 against the greenback. Indonesia's rupiah declined to a fresh record low of 16,965 per dollar.

Malaysia's ringgit weakened to 4.5 against the greenback, the lowest since February.

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.49% to 102.449.

"Market participants' concerns about the adverse impacts of tariff hikes on U.S. growth appear to have had a more pronounced impact on the value of the U.S. dollar than the prospect of a narrower trade deficit," the Fitch Group wrote in a note.

— Lee Ying Shan

India's central bank cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to 6% to boost slowing growth.

The rate cut was in line with expectations from analysts polled by Reuters, and comes as the U.S.' reciprocal tariffs kicked in at midnight stateside (9.31 a.m. India time) with a 26% levy slapped on goods coming in from India.

The move from the RBI comes amid softening inflation, but also a slowing economy.

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—Lim Hui Jie

South Korea's Kospi lost 20% from its July high, confirming a bear market.

The benchmark is currently down by over 1%. Amongst the index heavyweights, SK Hynix is down over 3% and Samsung Biologics is 0.9% lower.

Just last Monday, South Korea lifted the longest short-selling ban in the country's history, after tightening measures to crack down on illegal transactions.

—Lee Ying Shan

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut its benchmark rate on Wednesday by 25 basis points to 3.5%, its fifth cut for the cycle, as the central bank braces for heightened economic risks from the escalating trade war.

The cut adds to an already significant reduction since mid-2024, thanks to easing inflation and the aim of propping up the economy from years of recession.

"The recently announced increases in global trade barriers weaken the outlook for global economic activity. On balance, these developments create downside risks to the outlook for economic activity and inflation in New Zealand," the RBNZ said.

"As the extent and effect of tariff policies become clearer, the Committee has scope to lower the OCR [official cash rate] further as appropriate," it added.

— Anniek Bao

Samsung shares inched up 0.75% after the company announced that it will cut the pricing of its new 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) share offering. Samsung now plans to price the new shares at 146,200 won ($98.41) each, compared to the 169,200 won posted the previous month.

On Tuesday, Samsung posted its earnings guidance, estimating its operating income for the first quarter to reach 6.6 trillion Korean won ($4.5 billion), beating estimates by economists polled by Reuters.

—Lee Ying Shan

Trump has signed an executive order that triples the previously announced tariff rates on low-value packages exported to the U.S. from China via the international postal system.

Trump set the initial tariff rate on packages worth less than $800 at 30% of the shipment's value or $25, effective on May 2.

The new rate will be 90% of the shipment's value or $75, rising to $150 after June 1.

Until this year, shipments worth less than $800, so called de minimis packages, had been exempt from tariffs.

This tariff-free category greatly benefited Chinese online mega retailers Shein and Temu, which ship goods directly to U.S. customers by international post.

— Christina Wilkie

South Korea has announced three trillion won ($2 billion) of additional support for its automobile industry, in response to the 25% tariff from the U.S. earlier this month.

Other measures also include financial support for automakers, as well as discounts and tax cuts, according to a Google translation of the announcement.

Despite the announcement by South Korea, shares of major automakers slid, with Hyundai down 0.56% and Kia losing 1.3%.

— Lim Hui Jie

The Chinese offshore yuan weakened to a record low of 7.4242 against the U.S. dollar as investors brace for an implementation of 104% tariffs on Chinese goods.

On Tuesday, the People's Bank of China even set its midpoint rate at 7.2038 per dollar, marking the weakest level since 2023.

"In our view, FX stability remains a priority for Chinese policymakers, with the focus more on managing the pace of depreciation than targeting a specific USD/CNY level," Goldman Sachs wrote in a note.

—Lee Ying Shan

U.S. stocks finished Tuesday's volatile session in the red.

The S&P 500 declined 1.57%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 320.01 points, or 0.84%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.15%.

— Hakyung Kim

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said Tuesday that she backs the central bank's wait-and-see approach when it comes to interest rates.

"We've got policy in a very good place right now. We've cut the interest rate by 100 basis points last year. That puts policy in a good place to stay modestly restrictive, keep inflation coming down, but not so restrictive that the economy is vulnerable," Daly said during an event at Brigham Young University.

"So with growth good and and policy in a good place, we have built the time and the ability to just tread slowly and tread carefully," she added.

Daly does not vote this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee and will next vote in 2027.

— Jeff Cox