Asian stocks edge lower, China hit by Canada EV tariffs

Most Asian stocks declined on Tuesday as sentiment towards Chinese markets worsened after Canada joined the U.S. and Europe in imposing significant import tariffs on China’s electric vehicle sector.

Broader markets were also weighed down by speculation over U.S. interest rates, with caution setting in ahead of a highly anticipated earnings report from NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) later this week.

Regional markets were influenced by a mixed performance on Wall Street overnight. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record high, this came at the expense of losses in the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite, as expectations of U.S. interest rate movements prompted traders to shift away from heavyweight technology stocks.

This trend extended into Asian trading, with U.S. stock index futures also declining on Tuesday.

A spike in oil prices, driven by heightened tensions in the Middle East and disruptions in Libya, further unsettled markets.

Chinese Stocks Decline as Canada Imposes EV Tariffs

China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes fell by 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively, while Hong Kong’s