Asia-Pacific markets mostly lower after Trump says he plans to double steel tariffs to 50%

CNBC Updated Mon, Jun 2 20254:08 AM EDT

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower Monday after President Donald Trump told U.S. steelworkers that he will double tariffs on steel imports to 50%, effective from Wednesday.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1.30% to close at 37,470.67 while the Topix declined 0.87% to 2,777.29. South Korea’s Kospi was nearly flat to end the trading day at 2,698.97, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.81% to 740.29 ahead of the country’s presidential election on June 3.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.24% to close at 8,414.1.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.2% while India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.10%.

China, Malaysia and New Zealand markets are closed for the holidays.“We’re going to bring it from 25% to 50%, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America,” Trump said during remarks at U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, adding that the steep tariffs would “further secure the steel industry.”Trump also posted on Truth Social that the steel tariffs will start on June 4.U.S. stock futures fell as Wall Street looks to the start of a new month of trading following a strong performance in May. S&P 500 futures traded down 0.3%, along with Nasdaq-100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average also declined 108 points, or 0.3%.Last Friday, the three major averages closed mixed. The S&P 500 was little changed on Friday to close out a big winning month, inching down by 0.01% to end at 5,911.69. The Nasdaq Composite slid 0.32% to 19,113.77, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 54.34 points, or 0.13%, to finish at 42,270.07.— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Alex Harring contributed to this report.