Asian stock markets plummeted on Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on imports, raising concerns about a potential global trade war and severe economic fallout.
Stock markets across Asia fell significantly, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropping as much as 4% in early trade before closing 2.9% lower at 34,675.97. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.4%. India’s markets also opened lower, with the Sensex falling over 500 points and the Nifty 50 slipping below 23,200.
Analysts say the tariffs are a “worst-case scenario” amid recession fears. The US president imposed a 10% baseline tariff on all imports into the US and sharply higher duties on several key countries. China faces a combined tariff burden of 64%, while Japan has been hit with a 24% duty. South Korea was levied 25%, and the European Union 20%.
The sell-off in Asian markets reflects investor unease, with the dollar falling to 148 yen and the Mexican peso slipping. Gold and Treasury prices rose as traders moved towards safer assets.
Analysts warn that trading partners are likely to respond with their own countermeasures, raising the risk of higher consumer prices and supply disruptions. The tariff policy also weighed on energy and commodity prices, with US benchmark crude falling $2.08 to $69.63 per barrel.
The new tariffs represent a dramatic escalation of Mr Trump’s long-standing push to reshape the global trade system, prompting fears of a trade war and a global economic fallout. “We’re in the early innings of what could unfortunately turn into a very serious global trade war,” said Don Calcagni, CIO at Mercer Advisors.
The US president argued that the measures were about fairness, calling them “reciprocal” tariffs designed to match or counter the duties other countries place on US goods. However, analysts say the move may be intended as a negotiating tactic, though uncertainty over future policy is already weighing on business decisions.
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/market-reaction-trump-tariffs-nikkei-kospi-sensex-latest-b2726493.html