Hong Kong. Kowloon. Busy street in Mong Kok District.
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Asia-Pacific markets extended their sell-off Monday as fears over a global trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs fueled a risk-off mood.
Hong Kong markets led losses in the region, with the Hang Seng Index declining 11.70%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 8.47%.
Chinese markets have taken a hit from Beijing’s retaliatory move on Trump’s tariffs, Qi Wang, UOB Kay Hian chief investment officer for wealth management, told CNBC’s “The China Connection” on Monday.
On a short-term basis, he reckoned the “market will trade on these reactions.”
Looking ahead, Wang is keeping a watch on: an official response from the European Union, which has said they are preparing potential retaliations by the U.S. to China’s latest response — and China’s response to that based on the approach the U.S. adopts.
Wang is also mindful of political sentiments in the U.S. especially since consumers “are definitely not happy with this, and Trump’s approval rating is taking a hit.”
Over in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 7.83% to hit an 18-month low while the broader Topix index plummeted 7.79% in its last hour. Earlier in the day, trading in Japanese futures was suspended due the market hitting circuit breakers.
In South Korea, the Kospi index was last down 5.57%, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 5.25%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 4.23%, to end the day at 7,343,30. The benchmark slid into correction territory with an 11% decline since its last high in February, in its previous session.
India’s benchmark Nifty 50 dropped 4.26% while the broader BSE Sensex pared losses to 3.78%.
U.S. futures dropped as investors’ hopes of the Trump administration having successful negotiations with countries to lower the rates were dashed.
Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday stateside. Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74, their lowest since April 2021.
Trump’s top economic officials dismissed any fears of inflation and recession, declaring that tariffs would persist whatever markets may do.
Stocks in the U.S. sold off sharply last Friday, after China retaliated with fresh tariffs on U.S. goods, sparking fears of a global trade war that could lead to a recession in the world’s largest economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,231.07 points, or 5.5%, to 38,314.86 on Friday, the biggest decline since June 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The S&P 500 nosedived 5.97% to 5,074.08, its biggest decline since March 2020.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite, which captures many tech companies that sell to China and manufacture there as well, dropped 5.8%, to 15,587.79. This takes the index down by 22% from its December record, representing a bear market in Wall Street terminology.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans, Alex Harring and John Melloy contributed to this report.
