*

Trump reiterates Canada, Mexico tariff deadline of next

week

*

Trump says 10% China levy is on top of existing duties

*

Stocks hammered in Tokyo as safe-haven yen strengthens

*

Chinese equities resilient amid hopes for stimulus from

Beijing

By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Equities slumped in Asia on

Friday and the U.S. dollar hovered near multi-week highs against

the currencies of the country's top trading partners as concerns

about an escalating global trade war soured market sentiment.

Technology shares took an additional hit following a

sell-off in AI darling Nvidia and other so-called "Magnificent

Seven" Wall Street mega-cap stocks, as investors judged the

chipmaker's earnings report harshly a day after it was released.

The safe-haven yen and Swiss franc strengthened, with

Japan's currency getting an additional boost from lower U.S.

Treasury yields.

An overall firmer dollar weighed on commodities including

gold, although oil held on to most of Thursday's strong gains

spurred by U.S. President Donald Trump's cancellation of

Chevron's Venezuela licence.

Trump said on Thursday that 25% duties on imports from

Canada and Mexico will come into effect on March 4 - not April 2

as he had suggested the day prior - and said goods from China

will be subject to an additional 10% duty. He also this week

promised 25% tariffs on shipments from the European Union.

"A market that had reduced its sensitivity to recent tariff

headlines has had to reconsider that reaction function," said

Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

"The cleanest reaction has been seen in the FX channels," he

said, noting the hit to the Canadian dollar and the euro.

Japan's Nikkei tumbled 2.4% early in Friday's

session, buckling under the weight of a stronger yen, while

South Korea's Kospi sank 1.8% and Australia's stock

benchmark sagged 0.9%.

Chinese equities fared relatively better in early trading,

with Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 1% and mainland blue

chips down 0.3%.

Many analysts project that Trump's trade policies raise the

odds of additional stimulus from next week's meeting on China's

National People's Congress.

Pan-European STOXX 50 stock futures pointed 0.8%

lower, after bourses around the region retreated on Thursday.

U.S. S&P 500 futures were flat following a 1.6%

tumble for the cash index overnight.

World stocks are on track for their worst

week since mid-December, slumping more than 2%.

The U.S. dollar index - which gauges the greenback

against six major peers including the euro, yen and franc -

edged down to 107.20, but started the session at the highest

since February 19 at 107.34.

The euro was steady at $1.04 after earlier dipping

to $1.0389 for the first time since February 13.

The Swiss currency gained slightly to 0.8986

francs per dollar, bouncing off Thursday's low of 0.9005 francs.

The yen climbed 0.3% to 149.34 per dollar, with

10-year Treasury yields - which the currency pair tends to

follow - sinking as low as 4.2310% in Asian hours, a level last

seen on December 11.

While the threat of escalating tariffs has spurred dollar

strength, it has also stoked worries about its impact on the

U.S. economy.

Recent U.S. data has been soft, and traders have reacted by

pricing in at least two quarter-point Federal Reserve interest

rate cuts this year, with the first as early as June and another

as soon as September.

Investors will be keeping a close watch on the Fed's

preferred inflation gauge - the PCE deflator - set for release

later in the day. Monthly non-farm payrolls figures are due a

week from now.

Gold was flat at $2,880 per ounce, not far from

Thursday's low of $2,867.63, a two-week nadir.

Oil prices held close to Thursday's peaks, with U.S. West

Texas Intermediate crude futures easing 0.4% to $70.08,

from as high as $70.54 in the prior session.

Cryptocurrency bitcoin slid 3.6% to $81,260, after

earlier touched $81,807.29 for the first time since November 11.