Asian stocks plunged again during Wednesday’s trading session after President Donald Trump’s latest batch of sanctions on China came into force, helping wipe off Tuesday’s limited gains and compounding a turbulent week for the world’s key indexes.
Trump’s new measures increased the cumulative rate of tariffs on Chinese goods to 104% — a move met with more condemnation in Beijing, where officials warned that China is ready to fight an extended trade war if forced to do so.
The latest tariffs came into force with key Asian markets already open. In Japan, the Nikkei index dropped more than 5% in response, while the broader TOPIX index slipped 4.6%. The Nikkei closed down 3.93% and the TOPIX down 3.4%.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Sen index slipped 0.4%. Shanghai’s SSE Shanghai Composite Index — which has fewer international investors and is buoyed by the state-owned investors known as the “National Team” — posted gains of 1.1% despite the new tarfiffs. Shenzhen’s SE Composite rose 2.2%.
Shipping containers are seen at the Port Jersey Container Terminal, with the Manhattan skyline in the distance, in Jersey City, New Jersey, April 8, 2025.
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
Stocks in Taiwan fell more than 5.7%, Singapore’s STI index slipped 2.4%, South Korea’s KOSPI index lost 1.8%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.8% and India’s NIFTY 50 dropped 0.4%.
In Europe, key indices dropped on opening.
The British FTSE 100 dropped by 2.2%, Germany’s Dax index dropped 2.3%, France’s CAC 40 fell by 2.4% and Spain’s Ibex index was down 2%. The pan-European STOXX index was down 2.6%.
U.S. stock market futures indicated continued uncertainty, despite the White House touting possible deals with as many as 70 nations seeking to avoid the impact of Trump’s tariff campaign.
Dow Jones futures were up 0.01% as of Wednesday morning, with S&P 500 futures down 0.02% and Nasdaq futures up 0.26%.
United States stocks closed lower on Tuesday, marking a major reversal from a rally that sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up more than 4% earlier in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 320 points, or 0.8%, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.1%.
The S&P 500 fell 1.5%, putting the index on the brink of a bear market, a term that indicates a 20% drop from a previous peak.
The move lower on Tuesday resumed a selloff that stretches back to Trump’s tariff announcement last week. Since then, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have each fallen more than 12%.
A passerby is reflected on an electronic screen displaying a graph showing recent Japan’s Nikkei share average movements outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, on April 9, 2025.
Issei Kato/Reuters
ABC News’ Max Zahn contributed to this report.
