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Global markets fell on Monday ahead of the expected unveiling ceremony where Donald Trump touts extra tariffs.
Stocks in Japan, Taiwan, Korean and Hong Kong fell sharply alongside US futures, accelerating the sellouts that began last week, after President Trump said US tariffs, which are expected to be announced on April 2, would be applied globally.
“You’re going to start with every country, so let’s see what happens,” Trump told Air Force 1 reporters on the US Sunday. Last week he hinted at concessions from several countries.
The president has chosen Asia for its trade practices. “Let’s look at trade with Asia. No one says they treated us fairly,” he said.
Japan’s benchmark Topix fell by 3.3%, while the exporter-oriented Nikkei 225 slides at 3.9%. In Taiwan, Taiex poured 4.2%, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 3%. Hong Kong’s Hangsen has retreated by 1.6%.
The futures market pointed to a continuing downturn in the US and Europe, with the deal falling 1.1% on the Nasdaq 100 and a 0.6% on the S&P 500.
In Europe, futures on the Stoxx 600 and FTSE 100 also fell by 0.6%.
The region’s chipmakers were one of the biggest losers, with Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturers and Samsung Electronics down 4.4% and 3.5% respectively. Disco, the manufacturer of tools for chip production, fell by more than 8%.
In Hong Kong, Tencent and Alibaba fell by 1.5% and 2% respectively.
Gold reached a record of $3,098 in the troy ounce, but the US Treasury yield fell with signs that investors were loading up safe assets. The US Treasury’s 10-year yield fell 0.06 percentage points to 4.2 percent.
Wei Li, Head of Multi-Asset Investment at BNP Paribas, China, said: “The announcement of this tariff has affected sentiment across the market.”
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Trump calls April 2 the “liberation day” for the US economy, but his plan to collect so-called mutual tariffs that his judge has unfair trade ties with the US has wary of investors.
In the currency market, the yen strengthened 0.6% against the dollar to 149 yen, but South Korea’s victory remained flat. The dollar fell 0.2% against a basket of currencies of its major trading partners.
The Asian move came after the US fall on Friday. There, the S&P 500 dropped by 2%. The tech-centric NASDAQ composite slipped 2.7% in pessimistic data on the economy and consumer sentiment, causing fear about male dogs.
