Market disruptions extended to trading sessions in Asia on Wednesday as stocks across the region faced new downward pressure from significantly higher taxes on the US.
Stocks crossed Asia on Wednesday, a day on Wall Street when the stocks were whipped. Taiwan was the worst hit, sinking over 5%. Japanese stocks fell by more than 4%. The decline was less noticeable in South Korea and Hong Kong. Mainland China stocks were slightly higher.
President Trump uprooted investors last week with tariff announcements in countries around the world. The US import tax on goods from dozens of other countries has come into effect Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 ended near Bear Market. This is down 20% from the recent peak. This is a symbolic, relatively rare and worry-free threshold for investors. It fell 18.9% below mid-February record as Trump has plunged more than 12% in a few days since he announced the new tariffs.
The S&P 500 futures, which investors can wager in the direction of the index when trading resumes in New York, have now fallen by about 2%.
The executives appeared to have kept the doors open for negotiations that could ultimately ease the trade war, citing the fact that dozens of countries eventually approached the US government to launch a deal. But White House officials have tried to set a high bar of what the president is willing to accept.
“I'm sure he'll listen if they come to us because American manufacturers and American farmers benefit from that,” Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told Fox News in an interview.
But he added, “After decades and decades of abuse of American workers, it would be difficult for him to actually come to the table and decide to sign on the dotted line.”
Since the announcement of Trump's new tariffs last week, including a 10% basic tax on virtually all American imports, countries have responded with their own tariffs on US goods, or threats of retaliation.
China, the world's second largest economy, retaliated with a 34% tariff on American goods, which comes into effect at noon on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Japan emerged as the first major economy to secure priority tariff negotiations with the Trump administration. The news sparked a brief surge in Tokyo-listed stocks before resuming decline on Wednesday.
