Hong Kong: Euro selling extended into Asia on Friday after the European Central Bank said it would hold off hiking interest rates at least for another year, while equity traders were uneasy ahead of Donald Trump's decision on whether to hit China with fresh tariffs.
The single currency was hammered on trading floors after the ECB's announcement Thursday, which was accompanied by a cut in its eurozone growth outlook, citing rising protectionism and global trade fears.
Confirmation that it would end its crisis-era bond-buying stimulus provided little support as that had been widely expected.
The news came a day after the Federal Reserve said it would likely hike US rates twice more this year and four times in 2019, highlighting an increasing divergence between the two.
The euro dived to $1.1580 Thursday, from above $1.1800 earlier in Asia. On Friday in Asian trade the unit sank even further towards one-year lows.
"The signals from the (Fed) and ECB couldn't be more different," said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA. "The Fed, barring any unexpected financial market calamity, is primed to raise interest rates every quarter while the ECB will continue to sit on their hands well into 2019.
"These opposing views should see interest rates diverging more between the two most powerful central banks in the US's favour which should continue to lend support to the dollar. And should keep the euro circling the drain well into the summer."
The news sent European stocks soaring as a cheaper euro boosts the bloc's exporters. But while the Nasdaq hit another record on Wall Street, US stocks were choppy as fears grow that Trump will announce tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports.
Those worries filtered through to Asia, where markets fluctuated. Tokyo ended 0.5 percent higher and Sydney added more than one percent. Taipei and Bangkok also rose.
But Shanghai closed 0.7 percent off at its lowest level since September 2016, Hong Kong lost 0.4 percent and Seoul shed 0.8 percent while Wellington was also lower.
Trump is due to make a decision Friday, with many expecting him to push through the measures. China ramped up fears of a trade war when it warned Friday it retaliate "immediately" to any moves by the US.
Tai Hui, JP Morgan Asset Management chief market strategist for Asia-Pacific, said that while a thumbs-up from Trump would not be a surprise, there were concerns that talks between the two sides have seen little progress.
He added that another worry was Trump's threatened sanctions on Canada and the European Union.
The EU on Thursday approved a raft of tariffs targeting US goods.
Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors in Sydney, warned: "Implementation of the tariffs, when it occurs, could take us closer to a trade war."
The International Monetary Fund said the White House's import duties could harm the world economic recovery by "catalysing a cycle of retaliatory responses" and interrupting global supply chains.
In early European trade London fell 0.1 percent, Paris rose 0.2 percent and Frankfurt was flat.
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