Asian equities nosedive due to repercussions from Trump-imposed tariffs
Asian stock markets opened significantly lower on Monday, continuing a global sell-off triggered by recent tariff increases from US President Donald Trump and China's retaliatory actions. Last week, Trump enacted a 10% baseline tariff on all...
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Asian stock markets opened significantly lower on Monday, continuing a global sell-off triggered by recent tariff increases from US President Donald Trump and China's retaliatory actions.
Last week, Trump enacted a 10% baseline tariff on all imports and announced further “reciprocal” duties on numerous countries he accused of maintaining unfair trade practices. In response, China implemented a 34% tariff on US goods, matching Trump's actions. Other nations have also indicated plans to impose their own retaliatory tariffs. These developments have raised concerns about a potential trade war and the possibility of a recession in the US, culminating in a market downturn that wiped nearly $5 trillion off the value of US stocks last week.
The Nikkei 225 index in Japan saw a drastic decline of nearly 9% during early trading on Monday, reaching its lowest level since October 2023. Although it experienced a slight recovery, the index was still down over 7% by midday, with Japan’s bank stock index plummeting by as much as 17%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell nearly 14% as of 7:30 GMT, while China’s Shanghai Composite index dropped by 7.3%. Major Chinese tech companies like Alibaba and Tencent saw their shares decline by 17% and 12% respectively. Taiwan’s exchange experienced an almost 10% drop at the opening, marking its largest single-day percentage and point loss on record. The Kospi index in South Korea fell by 5.5% and was briefly halted, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day down 4.2%, its worst performance since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
European markets also opened with losses. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index, which tracks 600 of the leading companies in Europe, fell over 6% at the start of trading, reaching its lowest point since early December 2023. US futures indicated a continued downturn, with S&P 500 futures slipping 2.5%, reflecting similar trends for both the Dow and Nasdaq.
“Wherever we look this morning, it’s a bloodbath,” remarked Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, in a note to The Guardian. “The S&P 500 is down by almost 4%... and the week hasn’t even started yet.”
Last week, US markets experienced their most significant drop since the Covid-19 crash in 2020, with the S&P 500 decreasing by 6%, the Dow falling 5.5%, and the Nasdaq dropping 5.8% by Friday's close. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman cautioned on X on Sunday that Trump had instigated an “economic nuclear war” that could adversely impact the domestic economy and urged him to reconsider his approach.
In defense of the tariffs, Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One late Sunday, acknowledging the market decline but asserting that he would not back down on tariff policies. “Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he stated. “What’s gonna happen with the market I can’t tell you… but I do wanna solve the deficit problem that we have with China, with the EU, and other nations. And they’re gonna have to do that.”
Mark B Thomas contributed to this article for TROIB News
Last week, Trump enacted a 10% baseline tariff on all imports and announced further “reciprocal” duties on numerous countries he accused of maintaining unfair trade practices. In response, China implemented a 34% tariff on US goods, matching Trump's actions. Other nations have also indicated plans to impose their own retaliatory tariffs. These developments have raised concerns about a potential trade war and the possibility of a recession in the US, culminating in a market downturn that wiped nearly $5 trillion off the value of US stocks last week.
The Nikkei 225 index in Japan saw a drastic decline of nearly 9% during early trading on Monday, reaching its lowest level since October 2023. Although it experienced a slight recovery, the index was still down over 7% by midday, with Japan’s bank stock index plummeting by as much as 17%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell nearly 14% as of 7:30 GMT, while China’s Shanghai Composite index dropped by 7.3%. Major Chinese tech companies like Alibaba and Tencent saw their shares decline by 17% and 12% respectively. Taiwan’s exchange experienced an almost 10% drop at the opening, marking its largest single-day percentage and point loss on record. The Kospi index in South Korea fell by 5.5% and was briefly halted, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day down 4.2%, its worst performance since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
European markets also opened with losses. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index, which tracks 600 of the leading companies in Europe, fell over 6% at the start of trading, reaching its lowest point since early December 2023. US futures indicated a continued downturn, with S&P 500 futures slipping 2.5%, reflecting similar trends for both the Dow and Nasdaq.
“Wherever we look this morning, it’s a bloodbath,” remarked Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, in a note to The Guardian. “The S&P 500 is down by almost 4%... and the week hasn’t even started yet.”
Last week, US markets experienced their most significant drop since the Covid-19 crash in 2020, with the S&P 500 decreasing by 6%, the Dow falling 5.5%, and the Nasdaq dropping 5.8% by Friday's close. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman cautioned on X on Sunday that Trump had instigated an “economic nuclear war” that could adversely impact the domestic economy and urged him to reconsider his approach.
In defense of the tariffs, Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One late Sunday, acknowledging the market decline but asserting that he would not back down on tariff policies. “Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he stated. “What’s gonna happen with the market I can’t tell you… but I do wanna solve the deficit problem that we have with China, with the EU, and other nations. And they’re gonna have to do that.”
Mark B Thomas contributed to this article for TROIB News
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