Asian Markets A Blood Bath Amid Global Trade War

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are in a blood bath on Monday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid ongoing concerns about a global trade war after China announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump's new levies that could fuel inflation and damage the global economy. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

China announced a 34 percent tariff will be imposed on all imported goods from the U.S. as of April 10, while Canada and the European Union are also preparing countermeasures.

The new tariff matches the "reciprocal tariff" Trump plans to impose on China, although the country will face a 54 percent effective rate when the new levies are combined with existing duties.

China called Trump's tariff plan a "typical unilateral bullying practice" that is "inconsistent with international trade rules."

Responding to the news in a post on Truth Social, Trump argued China "played it wrong" and "panicked," calling the move "the one thing they cannot afford to do."

The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower on Monday, extending the sharp losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is tumbling almost 4 percent to below the 7,4000 level, with strong losses across all sectors led by mining and energy stocks as the global trade war ignited by the U.S. raises fears of a global recession.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 304.00 points or 3.97 percent to 7,363.80, after hitting a low of 7,169.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 309.30 points or 3.94 percent to 7,538.30. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is tumbling more than 5 percent, Rio Tinto is plunging almost 4 percent, Mineral Resources is plummeting almost 10 percent and Fortescue Metals is slipping almost 6 percent. Oil stocks are sharply lower. Woodside Energy and Beach energy are tumbling more than 5 percent each, while Santos is plummeting almost 10 percent and Origin Energy is slipping almost 4 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is slipping more than 5 percent, Xero is losing more than 2 percent, WiseTech Global is declining almost 1 percent, Appen is tumbling almost 6 percent and Zip is sliding almost 10 percent.

Gold miners are lower. Evolution Mining is plummeting almost 7 percent, Gold Road Resources is losing almost 2 percent, Northern Star Resources is slipping 2.5 percent, Resolute Mining is sliding almost 9 percent and Newmont is declining more than 4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is tumbling more than 4 percent and ANZ Banking is sliding almost 5 percent, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are declining more than 4 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.601 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is plummeting on Monday, extend the sharp losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 tumbling more than 6 percent to below the 31,600 level, with strong losses across all sectors led by index heavyweights, technology and financial stocks as the global trade war ignited by the U.S. raises fears of a global recession.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 31,591.84, down 2,188.74 points or 6.48 percent, after hitting a low of 30,792.74 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is plummets almost 12 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining almost 4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 3 percent and Toyota is declining more than 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is tumbling more than 9 percent, Tokyo Electron is sliding almost 8 percent and Screen Holdings is plunging almost 9 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are plummeting more than 11 percent each.

The major exporters are lower. Panasonic is declining more than 8 percent, Canon is losing more than 5 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is slipping more than 6 percent and Sony is tumbling almost 11 percent.

Among the other major losers, Yaskawa Electric is plummeting more than 18 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Resona Holdings are tumbling more than 15 percent each. Disco, Olympus and Fujikura are plunging more than 14 percent each. Sumitomo Electric Industries, Sumco, Japan Steel Works and Renesas Electronics are sliding almost 14 percent each. Socionext and Furukawa Electric are declining more than 13 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 146 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower by between 3.0 and 9.8 percent each. Indonesia remains closed for Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.

On Wall Street, stocks showed another substantial move to the downside during trading on Friday extending the nosedive seen over the course of the previous session. With the continued sell-off, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 plunged to their lowest closing levels in eleven months.

The major averages ended the session just off their worst levels of the day. The S&P 500 plummeted 322.44 points or 6.0 percent to 5,074.08, the Nasdaq dove 962.82 points or 5.8 percent to 15,587.79 and the Dow tumbled 2,231.07 points or 5.5 percent to 38,314.86.

The major European markets also showed substantial moves to the downside. While the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 4.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both plunged by 5.0 percent.

Crude oil prices showed another substantial move to the downside on Friday on continuing concerns about the impact a global trade war will have on fuel demand. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery plunged $4.95 or 7.4 percent to $62 a barrel, a three-year low.