China calls US trade actions 'shocking', 'totally unacceptable'
Beijing, July 11 : China on Wednesday expressed "shock" and solemn protest against the US' announcement of fresh tariffs, calling it "totally unacceptable".
The US on Tuesday listed $200 billion worth of additional products it intended to place tariffs on as soon as September. The move followed just days after the two countries imposed tit-for-tat tariffs of $34 billion on each other's goods
Washington said that the new tariffs of 10 per cent were adopted in retaliation for Beijing's response to the first set of taxes imposed by the US administration.
In response, a spokesperson of China's Commerce Ministry said: "The US has unveiled the list of tariffs in an escalating manner. This is totally unacceptable, and we express our solemn protest against this."
"By doing this, the US is hurting China, hurting the whole world and hurting itself. The irrational act goes against the will of the people.
"China is shocked by what the US did. To defend the core interests of the nation and the fundamental interests of the people, the Chinese government will, as always, be forced to take necessary countermeasures.
"In the meantime, we appeal to the international community to jointly defend free trade rules and the multilateral trade regime and fight trade bullying," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
China said it will "immediately lodge an additional complaint with the WTO over the unilateral acts of the US".
The US list named more than 6,000 items including food products, minerals and consumer goods such as handbags.
The public will have until the end of August to comment on the list before the new tariffs come into effect.
Asian stock markets fell sharply on Wednesday as investors shunned risk amid escalating trade tensions between the two economic giants.
In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.6 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite fell 2 per cent. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index shed 1.2 per cent.
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Sensex, Nifty end higher after volatile trade as India avenges Pahalgam attack
Mumbai, May 7 (PTI): Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher in a volatile session on Wednesday as India launched missile strikes on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
After gyrating between gains and losses during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 105.71 points or 0.13 per cent higher at 80,746.78. The index opened sharply down by 692 points and fell further to hit a day's low of 79,937.48 in early trade.
However, buying in private banks and select auto shares such as Tata Motors helped the barometer recover most of the losses and hit a high of 80,844.63 later.
The 50-issue Nifty of NSE advanced by 34.80 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 24,414.40. Nifty moved between a high of 24,449.60 and a low of 24,220 during the session.
Broader markets also recouped intraday losses and closed higher by more than a per cent. Sectoral indices closed mixed as auto, realty, and metal sectors advanced while pharma and FMCG ended in the red.
"Geopolitical tensions, following India’s military response to a terrorist attack, triggered a gap-down opening. However, a swift recovery helped the indices edge higher by the close," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.
In retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes early Wednesday on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke.
The military strikes were carried out under 'Operation Sindoor' two weeks after the massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.
"Even as the country is in the middle of a military action against terrorist network across the border, markets witnessed gyration during intra-day trade but eventually managed to shrug off the uncertainty to end slightly higher. While the mood will be of caution due to Indo-Pak war tension, markets could witness choppy sessions with stock-specific activity over next few days," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
From the 30-share Sensex firms, Tata Motors jumped the most by 5.05 per cent as India and the UK sealed a trade deal to reduce duties on most traded goods. The trade deal will make it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars, and other products to India.
Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra and Power Grid were among the gainers.
Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, ITC, Nestle, Reliance Industries and HCL Tech were among the laggards.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,794.52 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
"Geopolitical tensions like the ongoing Indo-Pak standoff under 'Operation Sindoor' tend to cause immediate market volatility. While short-term caution is reasonable, history shows that Indian markets demonstrate strong resilience once clarity returns. Unless accompanied by broader economic or global shocks, Indo-Pak tensions have not had a lasting negative impact. Investors should focus on fundamentals, not fear," said Pankaj Singh, small case manager and Founder and Principle Researcher at SmartWealth.ai.
The BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.36 per cent and smallcap index climbed 1.16 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, auto rallied the most 1.74 per cent, followed by consumer discretionary (1.21 per cent), metal (1.19 per cent), realty (1.12 per cent), consumer durables (1.05 per cent), power (0.95 per cent) and financial services (0.94 per cent).
BSE FMCG and healthcare indices were the only laggards.
As many as 2,203 stocks advanced while 1,685 declined 158 remained unchanged on the BSE.
"Indian equity markets exhibited strong resilience amid recent Indo-Pak border tensions, the measured market response indicated that geopolitical risks were largely priced in and expectations of de-escalation is prevailing among investors. At the same time, the progress on the India–UK FTA further buoyed investor optimism, driving gains in key sectors such as textiles, automobiles, and information technology," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited said.
Globally, investor sentiment has improved as the United States and China signal a willingness to resume trade negotiations, Nair added.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in the positive territory, while Japan's Nikkei 225 ended lower.
Markets in Europe were quoting in the negative territory. US markets ended lower on Tuesday.
India and the UK on Tuesday sealed a landmark free trade agreement that will lower tariffs on 99 per cent Indian exports and will make it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars, and other products to India besides boosting the overall trade basket.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.64 per cent to USD 62.55 a barrel.
Snapping its two days of gains, the BSE benchmark declined 155.77 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 80,641.07 on Tuesday. The Nifty dipped 81.55 points or 0.33 per cent to 24,379.60.
