Asian financial market falls sharply as Trump doubles down on global tariffs

Financial markets in Asia fell sharply on Monday as US President Donald Trump doubled down on global tariffs that have made investors increasingly pessimistic.

According to reports, the S&P 500 was also poised to slide again.

Trading in Asia was volatile. Stocks in Hong Kong, where many mainland Chinese companies trade, plunged 11%. In Taiwan, a hub for global technology, stocks were clobbered nearly 10%. Benchmarks in Japan were between 6-7% lower, while South Korea tumbled about 5%, recovering from steeper losses earlier in the day.

The activity reflected deepening concern that Trump’s significant new taxes on imports could disrupt global supply chains, cause inflation to accelerate and spark a severe economic downturn.

Wall Street, where financial titans spent the weekend surveying the damage of last week’s sell off, was bracing for more chaos on Monday. The S&P 500, which is already 17.4% below its February peak, was nearing a bear market, defined as a drop of 20% or more from a recent peak.

Trump on Sunday evening said that he would not ease tariffs on other countries “unless they pay us a lot of money.” He dismissed concerns that his steep new taxes on imports would lead to higher prices.