Global stocks paused on Wednesday and currencies were mixed as investors worried over the next potential target for US tariffs under President-elect Donald Trump, a day after he pledged new levies on Canada, Mexico and China.
The safe-haven Japanese yen extended its strong run, climbing to a three-week high on the US dollar, which was in turn weighed down by sagging Treasury yields.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares recouped slight, early losses to edge 0.1 percent higher.
The pan-European STOXX 600 lost 0.4 percent, while the S&P 500 pointed to a slightly lower start. Earlier, Asian stocks lost their footing on Trump's tariff pledges with equities in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea leading losses.
Trump said late on Monday that he would immediately put a 25 percent tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada upon taking office in January, and slap an additional 10 percent tariff on goods from China.
Trump also chose trade lawyer Jamieson Greer as his new US trade representative. US bond markets this week have taken heart to his pick for US Treasury secretary over the weekend that spurred hopes of reining in government debt load.
"We're trying to get our heads around very volatile communication where on the one hand you have very aggressive and uncompromising news on tariffs but on the other hand a pretty pragmatic pick for Treasury secretary," said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier.
Trump's policies are "relatively positive for US business conditions but probably more challenging for the rest of the world that will have to adjust and find a path to avoid disruptions and more expensive access to US markets."
Canada's loonie and Mexico's peso hovered near their multi-year lows on Tuesday.
The US dollar dropped against other major rivals, falling 0.2 percent to $1.0515 per euro and easing slightly to $1.26 against sterling. It slid almost 1 percent to 151.660 yen.
Investors seem to be taking some risk off the table as trading in November draws to close ahead of US Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, with many investors extending their break into Friday. Traders are also keeping an eye on a reading on a key inflation gauge, the PCE deflator, due later on Wednesday.
"We need to remember from (Trump's) first term, these agendas are changeable depending on how the policy priorities change, and what he can get in terms of the negotiations with various countries," said Keiko Kondo, head of multi-asset investments for Asia at Schroders, adding that based on the firm's estimates, nearly 40 percent of Trump's promises during his time in office were not delivered.
"We just need to sort of wait and see."
The New Zealand dollar rebounded 0.9 percent to $0.5887 from multi-month lows after the country's central bank opted to cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday, disappointing some in the market who had bet on a bigger reduction.
The largest cryptocurrency bitcoin attempted to find its feet after a four-day retreat from a record high of $99,830. It was last up 1.7 percent at $93,211.
Gold ticked up 0.3 percent to about $2,649 per ounce.
Oil prices stabilized as markets assessed the potential impact of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, ahead of Sunday's OPEC+ meeting.
Brent crude futures edged 0.1 percent lower to $72.72 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.1 percent at $68.84 a barrel.
