Asian stock markets are mostly declining and U.S. stock futures are lower on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on Chinese goods in an escalating trade spat between the two nations. Trump said he has directed the U.S. Trade Representative to identify $200 billion of Chinese goods for additional tariffs at a rate of 10 percent.
The Australian market is rising, with investors shrugging off the mixed cues from Wall Street and news that Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods. A rebound in commodity prices also lifted resources stocks.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 27.30 points or 0.45 percent to 6,131.40, off a high of 6,147.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 26.00 points or 0.42 percent to 6,238.80.
Among the major miners, BHP Billiton is adding 0.6 percent and Rio Tinto is higher by 0.4 percent, while Fortescue Metals is declining 0.4 percent.
Atlas Iron has given Mineral Resources three days until Thursday to respond to the A$390 million takeover bid it has received from Gina Rinehart's Hancock Processing, which trumps Mineral Resources' proposed A$280 million offer. Atlas Iron's shares are in a trading halt.
Gold miners Evolution Mining and Newcrest Mining are advancing almost 1 percent each after gold prices edged higher.
Oil stocks are also higher after crude oil prices rebounded overnight. Woodside Petroleum is higher by almost 1 percent, Santos is adding more than 1 percent and Oil Search is rising almost 2 percent.
The big four banks are mixed. National Australia Bank is rising 0.2 percent and Commonwealth Bank is adding 0.5 percent, while ANZ Banking is down 0.3 percent and Westpac is declining 0.2 percent.
Insurance Australia Group said it will sell three of its Asian operations, with the sale expected to be completed in the 2019 financial year and result in an after-tax profit of at least A$200 million. IAG's shares are gaining more than 2 percent.
On the economic front, members of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy board agreed that conditions in the global economy have continued to improve, minutes from the bank's June 5 meeting revealed on Tuesday. The members added that inflation is currently at an acceptably low level and is expected to remain that way.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said that residential property prices in Australia were down 0.7 percent on quarter in the first three months of 2018. That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.0 percent following the 1.0 percent increase in the previous three months.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. The local unit was trading at US$0.7424, down from US$0.7444 on Monday.
The Japanese market is extending losses from the previous session following the mixed cues from Wall Street and on a stronger safe-haven yen after Trump threatened new tariffs on Chinese goods.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 79.57 points or 0.35 percent to 22,600.76, off a low of 22,553.24 in early trades.
Among the major exporters, Sony is advancing 0.7 percent, Panasonic is adding 0.5 percent and Canon is rising 0.2 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is lower by 0.2 percent.
Automaker Toyota is adding almost 1 percent, while Honda is losing 0.7 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down almost 2 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding 0.3 percent.
Fujifilm Holdings has sued Xerox on Monday for more than $1 billion after the printer and copier company called off a proposed merger of the two companies in May. Shares of Fujifilm are declining 0.5 percent.
Tokio Marine Holdings will acquire Insurance Australia Group's Thailand and Indonesian units for about A$525 million. The company's shares are adding 0.2 percent.
Among oil stocks, Inpex is adding almost 1 percent and Japan Petroleum Exploration is up 0.3 percent after crude oil prices rose overnight.
Among the market's best performers, Kubota Corp. and JXTG Holdings are rising more than 3 percent each, while Showa Shell Sekiyu is gaining almost 3 percent.
On the flip side, Kao Corp is losing more than 3 percent, while Taiheiyo Cement, NTT Data and Nichieri Corp. are declining more than 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 110 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is declining 2 percent, while Shanghai and Taiwan are losing more than 1 percent each. South Korea, New Zealand, Malaysia are also lower, while Singapore is edging higher.
On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Monday amid lingering concerns about a global trade war after the U.S. and China announced plans to impose tariffs on billions of dollars-worth of imported goods. The Dow closed lower for the fifth consecutive session, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq managed to close just above the unchanged line.
While the Nasdaq inched up 0.65 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,747.02, the Dow fell 103.01 points or 0.4 percent to 24,987.47 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.79 points or 0.2 percent to 2,773.87.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on Monday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line, the French CAC 40 Index dropped by 0.9 percent and the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.4 percent.
Crude oil futures rebounded Monday as traders took advantage of steep recent losses. July West Texas Intermediate crude added $0.79 or 1.2 percent to settle at $65.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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