Asian shares hit 4-month low on risk of endless trade war

Asian shares broke support and caved to a four-month low on Thursday, as concerns grew that the Sino-US trade conflict was fast morphing into a prolonged technology cold war between the world's two largest economies.

Late Wednesday, Reuters reported the US administration was considering Huawei-like sanctions on Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision over the country's treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority, according to a person briefed on the matter.

After the United States placed Huawei Technologies on a trade blacklist last week, British chip designer ARM has halted relations with Huawei in order to comply with the blockade.

Digging the knife in, the U.S. military said it sent two Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.

"Both the U.S. and China appear to be preparing for a prolonged period of trade conflict," wrote analysts at Nomura in a note on the standoff.

"We think domestic pressures and constraints will drive both sides towards further escalation," they warned. "Without a clear way forward during an intensifying 2020 U.S. presidential election, we see a rising risk that tariffs will remain in effect through end 2020."

Shanghai blue chips shed 1.2 percent in response to be near their lowest since February. An index of major telecoms firms fell 2.7 percent as suppliers to Huawei suffered.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan touched its lowest in four months and was last down 0.7 percent.

Japan's Nikkei lost 0.7 percent and South Korea 0.3 percent. Also feeling the pain, E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 dropped 0.4 percent.

India's market was expected to buck the trend as media reported Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party was well ahead in an election vote count.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday it would be at least a month before the United States would enact proposed tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports as it studies the impact on American consumers.

Minutes of the US Federal Reserve's last meeting out on Wednesday underlined its readiness to be patient on policy "for some time" given the uncertain global outlook.

The chance of a rate cut seemed to diminish as many Fed policy makers saw recent weakness in inflation as "transitory", though the latest escalation in the trade war means markets are still wagering on an eventual easing.

In commodity markets, spot gold was little changed at $1,273.12 per ounce.

Oil prices added to losses suffered overnight after an unexpected build in US crude inventories compounded investor worries about demand.

US crude was last down 33 cents at $61.09 a barrel, while Brent crude futures lost 40 cents to $70.59.