Asian stocks falter after Trump's decision to scrap its business meeting with Xi

Shares fell on Friday at the start of the Asia-Pacific talks after Donald Trump ruled out a meeting with his Chinese counterpart before March 1, the Washington deadline for concluding a deal on trade with Beijing.

In Hong Kong, where traders were returning from Lunar New Year holiday, the Hang Seng index was down 1.3%. While Chinese markets remained offline, the Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1.6%.

The Tokyo Topix lost 1.4%, despite Sony's gain after announcing a share buyback. And in Sydney, the S & P / ASX 200 plunged 0.2%.

The measures were taken after the US president answered "no" to a question asked by the press at the Oval Office when he met Xi Jinping, Chinese president, before March 1. This date marks the end of a 90-day truce between the two parties. After that, tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States, which amount to about $ 200 billion, will increase from 10% to 25%.

Reports of Mr. Trump's response have dulled confidence on Wall Street overnight, with the S & P 500 losing up to 1.6% before closing down 0.9% this month. day.