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Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asian mkts mixed; US tariff worries, geopolitical tensions weigh

 

MUMBAI--0815 IST--Asian indices were mixed Tuesday after markets in the US closed lower due to uncertainty over President Donald Trump's tariffs and increasing concerns over possible disruption of software companies due to artificial intelligence. Markets were also burdened by concerns over rising tensions between the US and Iran. Markets in Japan and China reopened after Lunar New Year holidays.

 

China's CSI 300 and Japan's Nikkei 225 Day indices were 0.5-1.0% higher. However, indices in Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore were lower. The South Korean KOSPI was among the highest gainers and Taiwan's TAIEX reached a record high.

 

Market momentum has been under pressure because of rising concerns around AI and rise in geopolitical and trade uncertainty, Reuters reported analysts from Bernstein as saying. Trump warned countries against backing away from the recently negotiated trade deals after the US Supreme Court struck down his tariffs. The president threatened that he would hit them with much higher duties by utilising other trade laws. Trump has imposed a 15% tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.

 

In another development, a senior official with the US State Department said it is pulling out non-essential government personnel from their US embassy in Lebanon. This comes amidst growing concerns of a military conflict between the US and Iran.

 

Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China left its 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3.0% and 3.5%, respectively, for the 10th consecutive month, as authorities try to strike a balance between supporting a slowing economy and maintaining a stable currency, CNBC reported.

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0805 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
KOSPI	5926.25	1.37
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	5008.86	(-)0.64
S&P/ASX 200 Index	9003.40	(-)0.25
Hang Seng Index	26662.90	(-)1.55
IDX Composite	8405.14	0.11
TAIEX	34390.86	1.83
CSI 300	4714.10	1.15

 

(Akshat Saksena)

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Equity Alert: US mkts end dn Mon on concerns over tariffs, disruption from AI

 

MUMBAI--0735 IST--Equity markets in the US ended lower Monday with all three major indices falling over 1?ch. This fall was due to concerns over US President Donald Trump's tariffs along with worries that artificial intelligence may lead to a disruption in software companies. 

 

Stocks of software companies such as Microsoft and CrowdStrike were down over 3% and nearly 10%, respectively. Shares of companies in other sectors such as logistics, commercial real estate, and financial services have also been affected this month by the possible disruption from AI, CNBC reported. Concerns also gained traction after Citrini Research released a research report on how the AI boom could hurt the broader economy. The research paper was flagged as a reason for the weakness in technology stocks.

 

"The question about AI is twofold: How much is it going to cost, and who all is going to be disrupted?" Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis was reported as saying by Reuters. "You've seen the market react to headlines, it's 'sell first, assess later.'" "It's a perspective of what may happen as opposed to what has happened," he added.

 

The US Supreme Court struck down Trump's tariffs in a 6:3 ruling and observed that the US President had overstepped his presidential authority. The US President condemned the ruling and threatened a 15% temporary tariff on all imports despite having reached trade agreements with many of the country's trading partners. 

 

Also, A winter storm has led to the country being buried under 15 inches of snow and resulted in travel disruptions in North East US. In New York City, 89-98% of the flights were cancelled, Reuters reported, citing Flightware.com. Airline, travel, and leisure-related stocks fell during the session, with the Dow Transports index falling nearly 3%. 

 

Only 77 out of the S&P500 companies are left to report their earnings for the December quarter. Major earnings this week include those from Nvidia, and home improvement companies Home Depot and Lowe's Companies. Earnings from Sales Force and Universal Health Services are also scheduled this week. "Of the companies that have reported, 73% have beaten expectations, and analysts now expect aggregate year-on-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 13.9%, significantly higher than the 8.9% forecast as of January 1, according to LSEG data," Reuters said.  

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Monday:  

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6837.75	(-)1.04
NASDAQ Composite	22627.27	(-)1.13
Dow Jones Industrial Average	48804.06	(-)1.66

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 90.88

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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