The departure of economic adviser Gary Cohn sparked renewed worries Trump may go ahead with his proposed import tariffs on steel and aluminium.
SINGAPORE: Most South East Asian shares traded on a weak note on Friday as investors assess the likely fallout of a global trade spat on corporate earnings, with the Philippines continuing its dismal run with an over 2 percent fall in early trade.
German automotive maker Daimler late on Wednesday cut its 2018 profit forecast, as import tariffs on cars exported from the United States to China would hurt sales of its Mercedes-Benz cars, sparking fears of a wave of earnings downgrades in the auto industry.
"Mercedes-Benz's announcement was a little bit of a surprise to investors and I think the market might have been underestimating the potential impact of global trade tensions between the United States and China," said Taye Shim, head of research at Jakarta-based Mirae Asset Sekuritas.
Oil prices rose by more than 1 percent in early Asian trading on Friday, pushed up by uncertainty over whether OPEC would manage to agree a production increase at a meeting in Vienna later in the day.
Thai shares rose as much as 0.9 percent led by energy stocks with PTT Pcl climbing about 1 percent.
Shares in the Philippines fell for a seventh session to their lowest in over 17 months.
Industrials and financials weighed on the index as SM Investments Corp, Bank of the Philippine Islands and Ayala Corp fell 4 percent, 6 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.
Malaysian shares are on track to end lower for a 10th straight session, with Tenaga Nasional Bhd
down 2.9 percent and Axiata Group Bhd 3.2 percent lower.
Singapore shares are set to decline for a second straight week. Financials weighed on the index with Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd down 1.2 percent to a 7-month low while United Overseas Bank Ltd fell 1.6 percent. - Reuters
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