Asia Markets Mixed Amid Tariff Scare

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Thursday, after key Wall Street indexes rose amid fresh tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 113.8 points, or 1.4%, to 38,286.17. Shares of Japanese convenience store operator Seven & i Holdings fell over 10% after the proposed acquisition by its founding family failed to secure financing, according to a company filing. This comes after the Yomiuri newspaper reported that Seven & i has abandoned the management buyout plan, which was pegged at over 8 trillion yen ($53.69 billion U.S.).In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 69.64 points, or 0.3%, to 22,718.29. Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose 25% tariffs on imports from the European Union. This comes on the back of the president’s declaration to go forward with tariffs on Mexico and Canada after a month-long postponement.Investors will be keeping an eye on Asian chip stocks after technology darling Nvidia’s fourth-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations. The chipmaker also provided strong guidance for the current quarter and indicated its confidence in continuing its historic run of growth fueled by artificial intelligence.In other marketsThe CSI 300 in mainland China gained 8.18 points, or 0.2% to 3,968.12In Taiwan, the Taiex index shed 349.37 points, or 1.5%, to 23,053.18In Singapore, the Straits Times index recovered 13.14 points, or 0.3%, to 3,921.19In Korea, the Kospi index deleted 19.34 points, or 0.7%, to 2,621.75.In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 88.41 points, or 0.7%, to 12,540.87In Australia, the ASX 200 surged 27.54 points, or 0.3%, to 8,268.22.