Investing.com – Asian stocks extended their losses in afternoon trade on Friday, as White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement that U.S. President Donald Trump would leave early from the upcoming G-7 summit.
Trump would leave early form the summit and head straight to Singapore meet his North Korea counterpart Kim Jong-un, according to the statement.
G-7 leaders are meeting Friday and Saturday in Canada, as America’s closest allies would likely express their frustration over Trump’s imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs last week, as well as his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Iranian nuclear accord and the Paris climate agreement.
President Emmanuel Macron of France warned on Wednesday that he would not sign the summit’s traditional joint statement unless progress is made on tariffs and other contentious issues.
Meanwhile, Trump said he predicted “great success” in the upcoming talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Trump said he may sign an agreement to officially end the Korean War with Kim at their summit, which would be held on June 12 in Singapore. Trump added that he may host Kim at the White House later this year.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4% by 1:20AM ET (05:20 GMT). The country’s economy contracted at an annualized rate of 0.6% in the first quarter of 2018, compared with the estimated 0.4% contraction, revised gross domestic product data from the Cabinet Office showed.
China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component traded 1.2% and 1.4% lower respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was also down 1.3%.
China's May exports rose 12.6% from a year earlier, while imports grew 26%, data showed on Friday.
China posted a trade surplus of $24.92 billion for the month, compared to the expected $31.9 billion.
ZTE Corp (HK:0763) made headlines again as the telecommunications company reached a deal with the U.S. to get back in business. Under the agreement, ZTE would pay a record-large fine and undergo management changes, according to a statement, which added that the ban is now suspended for 10 years but could be activated by the U.S. if the company commit more violations in the future.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s KOSPI and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6% and 0.1% respectively in afternoon trade.