Asia-Pacific markets experienced declines as U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed upcoming tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, set to begin next week. This confirmation led to a stronger dollar, with the dollar index rising 0.12% to 107.36 as investors sought safer assets amidst tariff-related uncertainty. The Indonesian rupiah fell to its weakest level against the dollar since April 2020, while the South Korean won and Indian rupee also weakened. Additionally, Asian chip stocks dropped after Nvidia exited the $3 trillion market valuation club. Retail sales in Japan grew by 3.9% year-on-year in January, slightly below expectations, with fuel sales seeing the largest increase. Meanwhile, Tokyo’s headline inflation rate decreased to 2.9% year-on-year in February, with core inflation at 2.2%. Trump cited fentanyl entering the U.S. from abroad as a reason for the tariffs, which also include an additional 10% tariff on China starting March 4. Following Trump’s announcement, Dow futures turned negative. — news from CNBC
