Asia shares hit by Taiwan face-off

ASIAN markets have taken a hit after Nancy Pelosi defied China to visit Taiwan.

Beijing ramped up its military activities across the Taiwan Strait in response to the next leg of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives’ tour of Asia.

Shares in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2.4pc, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.4pc and China’s index was down 3.2pc. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.7pc and the S&P 500 edged down 0.1pc in early trading.

Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan has caused a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Washington. China’s claim that Taiwan – home to more than 23m people – is a part of its territory has been rebuffed in the West. Pelosi, 82, is set to meet Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen tomorrow after she became the most senior US politician to visit in 25 years.

Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK said: ‘Any disruption to Taiwanese trade as a result of these tensions has the capacity to compound the difficulties already being felt in global supply chains.’