Most stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region traded higher on Friday, following an announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump, who stated that the U.S. will impose a 35% tariff on Canadian imports starting August 1.

In addition, on Thursday, Trump revealed his intention to apply a broad-based tariff of 15% to 20% on most of the country’s trading partners.

“I believe these tariffs have been very well received. The stock market hit new all-time highs today,” the president told NBC News' “Meet the Press” host, Kristen Welker, in a phone interview.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.51% at the open, while the Topix index advanced by 0.81%. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 1%, and the small-cap Kosdaq increased by 0.94%. Meanwhile, in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ticked up by 0.14%.

In contrast, China’s Shanghai Index slipped 0.11% during the early trading session.

Wall Street & Crypto
U.S. markets posted strong gains once again. On Thursday, the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high, rising 0.27% to finish at 6,280.46.

The Nasdaq Composite also marked its second consecutive record high, adding 0.09% to close at 20,630.67. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 192.34 points, or 0.43%, ending the session at 44,650.64.

In the crypto market, Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of US$113,863.31 on Thursday, extending the previous day’s record, as investors rotated into riskier assets and liquidated their short positions.

Over the past 24 hours, short positions worth US$318 million were liquidated, according to CoinGlass data.

At the same time, altcoins—cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin—joined the rally for a second straight day, after many investors had previously lost hope that these assets would show any strength this year.