Japan Financial News

tariff war between the US and China led to a sharp downturn. The Nifty Metal index plunged 6.6%-its worst day since the announcement of general election results in June 2024.

JPMorgan has raised its estimate of a US recession occurring before the end of the year. The bank now sees a 60% probability, up from its previous 40% estimate. The increase follows President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs. These tariffs impact global markets and business conditions.

Honda will partner with US companies to test in orbit a renewable energy technology it hopes to one day deploy on the Moon's surface, the Japanese carmaker announced Friday. The auto giant is developing a mechanism capable of generating electricity and oxygen continuously — enabling astronauts to breathe — thanks to solar energy and water known to be present in some lunar soils. Now it plans to test this technology aboard the International Space Station, it said in a release, without giving a date. Honda already employs the system in its electric vehicles, and now wants to extend it to space to «to support life in space and on Earth.» «During the Lunar Day, the system will use electricity generated by the sun to power the process. Honda's high-differential pressure water electrolysis system will then produce hydrogen and oxygen from water,» it explained.

Max Verstappen may have kept his public comments minimal, but his social media activity said plenty about how he really felt about Red Bull’s rapid decision to remove Liam Lawson after just two races. Verstappen showed his position on Red Bull's swift team change by quietly supporting the post from Dutch driver Giedo van der Garde, which labeled it «bullying» and a «panic decision.» The quiet online support was in agreement with the private views that Verstappen has never openly revealed.

Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday is only the third Formula 1 race of the season, and several plots are developing that promise a few twists. But the fresh storylines could be as fleeting as the cherry blossoms seen all over Japan at this time of the year. There's McLaren, which has been the early force after winning the first two races. Are Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri about to run away with the season just as Red Bull and Max Verstappen have in winning the last four drivers' titles? How about seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who moved this season from Mercedes and is looking for his first victory for Ferrari. He won the sprint two weekends ago in Shanghai. In Sunday's main race in China, he and teammate Charles Leclerc were disqualified for technical infringements. And back to the cherry blossoms in Japan — the season typically lasts for only about two weeks, from the initial blooms to its splendorous peak. A sellout crowd of about 115,000 on Sunday at Suzuka — the Honda-operated track in central Japan — will be following every lap of Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda was promoted to Red Bull last week from Racing Bulls, its feeder team. A Japanese driver has never won an F1 race.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: A spell of weakness in Asian markets spilled into Indian equities on Friday, sparking a sell-off that swept across sectors. Indian markets that averted a steep fall a day earlier plunged 1.5%, as fears of a US recession and its consequences grew.

Similarly, mined metal production at Vedanta's Zinc India division rose 4 per cent to 3,10,000 tonnes, driven by improved mined metal grades and mill recovery. The production of mined metal at the Zinc International division for the fourth quarter was 50,000 tonnes, up 52 per cent year-on-year, the company said in a statement.

Oil prices were heading towards their lowest close since the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 on Friday, hit by U.S. President Donald Trump's barrage of new tariffs and output increases announced by the OPEC+ producer group. Brent futures plummeted by $2.29, or 3.3%, to $67.85 a barrel by 0948 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dived by $2.32, or 3.5%, to $64.63.

Manoj Kumar, the veteran Indian actor known for his patriotic films, passed away in Mumbai on April 4. He was 86. The actor was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital since February 21. He suffered a massive heart attack and had been under treatment for decompensated liver cirrhosis. According to a family member, the cremation will take place at Pavan Hans Crematorium in Mumbai on Saturday in the presence of close family members.

Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency said the new tariffs, announced on what is labelled as “Liberation Day” by the US administration, go far beyond what it had previously expected and are already altering the global economic outlook. The tariff regime now imposes a minimum rate of 10% on all US trade partners, with significantly higher levies on 57 selected countries. As a result, the effective tariff rate (ETR) for EU imports into the US has jumped to about 20%, while the rate on Chinese goods has surged to 64%. These figures compare with Fitch’s earlier March assumptions of 15% for the EU and 35% for China. Other Asian economies have also been hit hard. Vietnam now faces a 46% tariff, Thailand 36%, Taiwan 32%, India 26%, South Korea 25%, Malaysia 24% and Japan 24%. Sector-specific exclusions—such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, copper and lumber—may be negotiated separately. Also Read: Recession, not Liberation Day! India, US and world GDP may slump for Trump tariff 'insanity' «We estimate the changes will raise the overall US ETR to about 25%, which would be significantly higher than the 18% we had assumed for 2025 in the March GEO and the highest rate for more than 115 years,» Fitch said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Leaders from Canada, Europe and China are threatening stiff countermeasures against the U.S. in response to President Trump’s surprisingly steep tariffs on nearly all imports.

Shares in Australia and Japan fell at the open. US equity-index futures were steady as trading kicked off in Asia after the S&P 500 declined 4.9% on Thursday and the Nasdaq 100 slumped 5.5%, the biggest drop since 2020 for each. The slump wiped out around $2.5 trillion from the US stock market. Oil sold off and the greenback extended its drop on Friday as yields on the 10-year US Treasury hovered around the 4% mark. Markets are closed in China and Hong Kong.

Auto and IT shares were the laggards, while power, pharma and consumption stocks remained steady.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: US President Donald Trump’s tariff thunderbolt sent shockwaves across world capitals on Thursday, turning the clock back on globalization and raising fears of a tariff war.

Witch Watch, in April 2025. The anime is based on the manga by Kenta Shinohara and directed by Hiroshi Ikehata. The series will be available globally and will include multiple language dubs after its initial release.

Quad dynamics remain stable, as the grouping is critical for Indo-Pacific security. «Tariff per se does not impact Quad.

multi-polar world will become a reality faster than anyone had ever expected in the wake of the new tariffs announced by the US, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said on Thursday. In a post on social media platform X, Mahindra reposted a report of South Korea, China, and Japan, agreeing to cooperate for talks to improve free trade in the region amid concerns over US President Donald Trump's import tariffs, and wrote «the new tariffs announced by the U.S are a signpost of one major geopolitical development». He further said, «The MultiPolar World will now become a reality faster than anyone had ever expected.» The US on Wednesday announced 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India — saying New Delhi imposes high import duties on American goods — as the Trump administration aims to reduce the country's trade deficit and boost manufacturing.

The pan-European STOXX 600 sank 2.7%, falling back to its lowest since January. German, Italian and French benchmarks closed over 3% lower, with Italian and French stocks seeing their worst fall in over two years.

In an RNS notice today (3 April), AJOT's chair, Norman Crighton, said his firm had attempted to engage with FJV's board on «numerous occasions» having followed the trust's progress for several years to try and «discuss the combination of the two companies to create a market leading Japanese investment trust». Fidelity Japan trust's Nicholas Price to retire at the end of 2025 AJOT and FJV posted the same RNS notice regarding the proposal, which included no comment from FJV on the matter. On it, AJOT said it first tried to engage with the Fidelity team about a merger in August 2024 v...

Donald Trump on Thursday said that the US economy would emerge «far stronger» even as markets went down globally after the reciprocal tariffs. Taking to social media platform Truth, Trump said, «The operation is over! The patient lived and is healing. The prognosis is that the patient will be far stronger, bigger, better and more resilient than ever before.» White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also reassured US markets. «To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say, 'Trust in President Trump.' This is a president who is doubling down on his proven economic formula,» she said while speaking with CNN. She said the tariffs, which include 10 percent across the board levies on imports and steeper barriers on several countries including India, meant «the United States is no longer going to be cheated by foreign nations.»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: Indian equities, bonds and currency showed some resilience even as US president Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs sent global markets into a tailspin. Trump fired up global trade tensions by announcing a baseline 10% tariff on all imports starting 5 April, with additional reciprocal tariffs on specific countries from 9 April.