2 weeks Ago By ARA
The main Asian markets started the day with sharp losses following the battery of tariffs announced by Donald Trump. The declines, of 3% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and 1.5% on the Shanghai (China) and Hong Kong stock exchanges, are also expected to be felt in Europe when trading opens.
Currently, futures for the main European stock markets are also advancing, opening sharply down around 2%. The main index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei, fell 2.95% at mid-session on Thursday, after sinking 4% at the opening.
The new tariffs announced by the US president are 24% for Japan, in addition to widespread tariffs of 25% on automobile imports. Toyota, the world's leading vehicle manufacturer by sales volume and market capitalization in Tokyo, fell 5.19% at the break, while the other two major Japanese automotive companies, Honda and Nissan, lost 2.
38% and 3.59%, respectively. In South Korea, where the new "reciprocal tariffs" will reach 26%, the Seoul Stock Exchange fell 1% at mid-session.
The most notable declines were for technology giant Samsung Electronics (2.72%) and the number one domestic car manufacturer, Hyundai Motor (1.50%).
Meanwhile, the main index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Hang Seng Group, fell 1.58% at the break. Among the declines were sportswear manufacturer Shenzhou International (-13.
82%), electronics company Techtronic Industries (-10.82%), automobile manufacturer BYD (-8.48%), Lenovo Group (-7.
5%) and conglomerate Alibaba (-5.15%). Southeast Asian stock markets have opened and remain in the red, with Vietnam recording the worst falls.
The VN index on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (formerly Saigon) was down nearly 6% at mid-session. In India, where tariffs of 26% will be imposed, the benchmark BSE Sensex index (a key indicator representing the performance of the 30 largest and most active companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange) plummeted 539 points in early trading, reaching 76,077, while the 3.
