Asian stock markets opened to a bloodbath Monday, mirroring grim US futures as fears over President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy sparked a global selloff. Tokyo’s Nikkei nosedived over 7%, Seoul’s Kospi slumped 4.8%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng plummeted 9.28%. China, Singapore, Australia, and Taiwan also witnessed brutal declines.
This market carnage follows Trump’s refusal to ease tariff threats, despite global backlash and crumbling investor confidence. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump shrugged off the meltdown, saying, “Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” implying temporary pain for long-term gains.
Wall Street futures extended the rout, with S&P 500 down 4.31% and Nasdaq futures off 5.45%. Nearly $6 trillion has been erased from global markets since last week.
Amid fears of recession, investors fled to safe havens, pushing Treasury yields lower and raising bets on a Fed rate cut by May. Oil prices and gold also slipped.
