Asia tech stocks fall after Trump renews US-China trade war

Suppliers of the Chinese tech company Huawei were hit particularly hard after Trump reignited his country's trade war with China by saying he would add a 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese-made products in September — effectively taxing all goods from China that come into the United States.

Smartphone component manufacturer Sunny Optical Technology plummeted 8%, while AAC Technologies tumbled 5%. Q Technology lost 5.5%, and BYD Electronic sank 4.5%.

All of those stocks are listed on Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HSI), which fell 2.3% in Friday morning trading.

The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP), meanwhile, declined 1.7%.

Trump says he will go ahead with new China tariffs that would hit iPhones and toys

Trump's announcement — made in a series of tweets overnight — came just after US trade representatives returned from a round of negotiations in Shanghai. While both sides agreed those talks were "constructive," they announced no tangible progress.

Rare earth stocks in Asia soared Friday — one of the market's few winners. Beijing has previously implied that it might halt exports of rare earth elements to the United States as its next bargaining chip in the trade war. China controls more than 90% of rare earths production, which is key to the production of smartphones and tablets, according to the US Geological Survey.

"Markets are reeling after President Trump expressed his frustration with China's stalling techniques," wrote Stephen Innes, managing partner for Vanguard Markets Pte in Singapore, in a research note Friday.

Here are some of the other big moves on Asian markets at 10:30 a.m. Hong Kong time.

Stocks across the region were down. Japan's Nikkei (N225) fell 2.1%. Taiwan's Taiex lost 1.9%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%.
South Korea's Kospi dropped 1%. The index also ended lower Thursday, and has been weighed down by trade tensions. Japan decided Friday to remove South Korea from its so-called white list of trusted trade partners.
Oil began to recoup some of the losses incurred after Trump's tariff announcement. US oil futures rose 1.6%, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, increased 2%.
Wall Street sold off Thursday following Trump's tweets. The Dow (INDU) closed down 1.1%, while the S&P 500 (SPX) finished down 0.9% and the Nasdaq (COMP) dropped 0.8%.