Asian and European Stock Markets Decline, Trade War Crisis Deepens

Asian stock markets sharply fell on Monday, deepening the global stock market crisis triggered by the trade war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump, with trading on the South Korean stock exchange halted for five minutes as a trading switch designed to prevent panic selling was activated.

The Japanese Nikkei plunged more than eight percent at the start of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. This index, which encompasses the 225 most valuable companies in the country, fell below the 33,000 level for the first time since August 2024. Meanwhile, it slightly eased its losses, being down about 5.84 percent or 1,968 points at around 4:00 AM this morning, at 31,811 points – the lowest level since 2023.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated on Monday that his government would continue to urge President Trump to reduce tariffs on Japan, but acknowledged that results ‘will not come overnight’.

– The government must take all available measures to mitigate the economic impact of U.S. tariffs, such as providing support for financing domestic companies and taking measures to protect jobs – Ishiba said in parliament. Trump imposed a general tariff of 24 percent on Japan on Wednesday, a country that is otherwise an ally in a defense agreement.

The South Korean Kospi fell more than 4.8 percent shortly after opening, and trading was halted for five minutes when a trading switch designed to prevent panic selling was activated.

The Taiwanese Taiex dropped more than 9.7 percent after opening. Trading was suspended for a while for shares of two leading Taiwanese export companies, TSMC and Foxconn, after their prices plummeted by nearly 10 percent.

The Australian stock index ASX 200 fell 6.3 percent in morning trading, while the New Zealand NZX 50 lost another 3.5 percent.

Stock prices in Hong Kong and China also plunged on Monday – the Hong Kong Hang Seng index fell 8 percent in early trading, with the stock prices of online giants Alibaba and Tencent dropping by more than 8 percent. The Chinese CSI300 index fell 4.5 percent. China is facing U.S. tariffs exceeding 50 percent.

The Only Panic Selling Switch is Trump’s iPhone

Asian markets are following the worst two-day performance of stocks on Wall Street in the last five years. In addition to nearly six trillion dollars in value wiped off U.S. stocks on Thursday and Friday, futures prices for U.S. stocks also fell on Sunday evening. The U.S. S&P 500 index was down 17 percent from its record level on Friday, and if it falls 20 percent below its record level, it enters a ‘bear market’, which is a grim sign for investors and possibly for the broader economy.

The continuation of the ‘slaughter’ on the stock markets followed after U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday evening that he ‘does not want something to fall, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something’, and also stated that he would not make a deal with China until the U.S. trade deficit is resolved.

– The only real panic selling switch is President Trump’s iPhone, and it shows little sign that the stock market sell-off bothers him enough to reconsider his political stance that he has believed in for decades – said Sean Callow, senior FX analyst at ITC Markets in Sydney.

European Stock Markets Plunge More Than 5.5 Percent

On European stock markets on Monday morning, stock prices sharply fell further, diving to the lowest level in 16 months, as fears of escalating the trade war and the risk of recession keep the markets unsettled.

The STOXX 600 index of leading European stocks was down 5.8 percent at 9:30 AM, after having fallen more than 8 percent last week.

This morning, the London FTSE index plunged 5.73 percent, to 7,586 points, the Frankfurt DAX 7.74 percent, to 19,046 points, and the Paris CAC 6.84 percent, to 6,777 points.