Aerial view of Seoul downtown city skyline with vehicle on expressway and bridge cross over Han river in Seoul city, South Korea.
Mongkol Chuewong | Moment | Getty Images
Shares of South Korean autos pared losses Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at the country overnight, saying he would increase tariffs on Asia's fourth-largest economy.
Trump said on Truth Social that the country's legislature has not approved Seoul's trade deal with Washington, and that tariffs on the South Korea will climb to 25%, from 15%.
Auto heavyweights Hyundai and Kia plunged as much as 4% and 5%, respectively, at the open. Both pared losses with Hyundai last trading 1.12% higher, while Kia was still down 1.1%.
However, the threat did not seem to dent sentiment in South Korea's Kospi, which reversed losses to gain 1.4% as chip stocks gained. The small-cap Kosdaq was also in positive territory, climbing 0.4%.
Elsewhere, Asia-Pacific markets were also mostly up. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 1.03% up, reaching its highest level in almost 3 months, and coming back from a holiday on Monday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 reversed gains to trade just above the flatline, while the Topix lost 0.11%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.48%, while the CSI 300 on mainland China was down 0.26%.
Shares of Anta Sports in Hong Kong inched up after the company announced a $1.8 billion purchase of a 29.06% stake in sportswear giant Puma. The stock was up 2.75%.
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