Asian stocks in red, except China, Nikkei loses 1,300 points

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Asian stocks are mostly in red on Wednesday's trading, except China's Shanghai Stock Exchange, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index posted a huge loss.

The tariff steps taken by US President Donald Trump as part of his “America First” policy continue to affect the world stock markets severely.

After China's tariff retaliation, the announcement that the US tariffs on China would be raised to 104% caused global risks to rise again.

The uncertainties regarding the ongoing tariff tensions between the US and China, the world's two largest economies, have deepened and the increasing risk perception in many areas makes it difficult for investors to make decisions.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index decreased sharply by 3.93% or around 1,300 points to close at 31,714.03.

The Asia Dow, which tracks leading blue-chip companies across the region, fell by 2.48% to 3,638.09 points as of 0650GMT.

The Hang Seng Index, a key benchmark for Hong Kong's blue-chip stocks, dropped slightly by 0.02% to 20,122.20 points, and it fell by a historic figure of 13.2% on Monday.

China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange was the only index to gain, earning 1.27% to 3,185.12 points as of 0650GMT.

India’s Sensex index climbed 0.45% to 73,893.16.