Asian Markets Reel Under US-China Tariff Heat; Japan’s Nikkei Crashes Over 5%

Rising US-China trade tensions and Wall Street’s rout send shockwaves across Asia; Japan, South Korea, Australia lead regional losses as market sentiment turns risk-averse.

April 11, 2025 | Asia – Asian equity markets plunged on Friday, weighed down by heightened US-China trade war fears and a deep overnight selloff on Wall Street. Investor sentiment turned risk-averse following US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff escalation targeting China, triggering widespread losses across the region.

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Japan’s Nikkei 225 led the regional decline, tumbling 5.46%, while the Topix index sank 5.05%. This sharp fall came just a day after the Nikkei had surged 9% on optimism over Trump’s 90-day global tariff pause — a rally that proved short-lived as tariff worries returned with force.

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Among notable losers in Tokyo:

• Fast Retailing fell 3.87%
• Tokyo Electron lost 5%
• Advantest Corp plunged 7.5%

All 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange were in the red, with refiners suffering the steepest fall of 6.6%, according to Reuters.

Amid rising pressure, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba launched a special task force to handle trade negotiations with Washington, to be led by Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa, who may visit the US next week for talks.

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Other Asian Markets:

• South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.55%, while Kosdaq dipped 0.11%
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng futures pointed to a weaker open
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slumped 2.4% to 7,524.50
• New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 fell 1.5%

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Backdrop: US-China Trade War Intensifies

President Trump extended a 90-day tariff pause to non-retaliatory countries but increased tariffs on China, pushing the cumulative duty to 145%. In response, Beijing is expected to raise its retaliatory tariffs, potentially breaching its current 84% level, stoking fears of a prolonged economic conflict.

This development mirrored the overnight Wall Street collapse, where:

• Dow Jones fell 2.50%
• S&P 500 lost 3.46%
• Nasdaq Composite tumbled 4.31%

The global sell-off signals growing unease over the potential economic fallout from the escalating trade war.

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Tags:

Asian markets, Japan Nikkei, US-China trade war, stock market crash, Hang Seng, South Korea Kospi, Australia ASX, Trump tariffs, China retaliation, global selloff, Asia-Pacific markets, Wall Street impact, Ryosei Akazawa, Shigeru Ishiba