Asian stock markets plunged into the region on Monday, launching the weakest negotiation week for decades, while the world was preparing for the shock waves of the tariff war between China and the United States.
The reference index of Hong Kong Hang Seng fell from 13.2% to 19,828.30 at the end of trade on Monday, marking its greatest drop since October 1997. It was the lowest level since January 23.
The 14 major equity gauges of the Asia-Pacific region fell, including 11 which hit their lowest in at least 52 weeks. Japan Nikkei 225 slipped 7.8%, the South Korea Kospi index fell 5.6%, the Australian S&P / ASX 200 lost 4.2%and the Singapore Strait index dropped by 8%.
“We expect the” tariff threat “to remain an overhang for the stock markets in Asia-Pacific in (the second quarter) of 2025,” wrote Patrick Pan and Yue Tan of Daiwa Capital Markets. “With the increase in geopolitical uncertainties, we expect the overall feeling of the market to cool more.”
