JAKARTA - Stock market indices in Asia corrected up to 3% on Friday (11/4) afternoon local time, due to the impact of the import tariff war between the United States (US) and China. However, the exception is the Hang Seng Index and Shanghai Composite which look optimistic.

Quoting The Straits Times, Japan's Nikkei Index fell 3.8%, after rallying 9.1% the day before due to the US halting the implementation of import tariffs for the next 90 days. South Korea's Kospi slid 0.9%, Australia's ASX200 fell 1.4%, and the Straits Time Index also fell 2.1% in the afternoon session, better than the beginning of the session which had fallen 3.1%.

In contrast, Taiwan's TAEIX rallied 1.5%, reversing from a 2.5% slide the previous day. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% as traders focused on stimulus efforts from Beijing and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.6%,

Meanwhile, the US dollar (US$) on the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index (BBDXY) corrected 1.5%, the highest decline in three years. This is due to the decline in investor confidence in the US economy. This also prompted a reaction of selling US$ assets and shifting investments to Swiss Francs, Yen, Euros, and precious metals. (LK/LM)