Customs dispute continues: Asian stock exchanges sack again – Hang Seng -13%

It was particularly strong in Tokyo, where Nikkei kinked 225 by 7.8 percent to 31,137 points – the lowest level since October 2023. But the indices were also under pressure on the stock exchanges in China. The Shanghai Composite lost 7.3 percent to 3,097 points, the greatest loss of day since August 2024. For the Hang Seng Index, the closure ended by 13.2 percent down to 19,828 points.

The US government introduced a flat-rate tariff of ten percent in the amount of ten percent last week. On April 9, even higher tariffs are to follow for countries with which the USA, in its view, have a particularly large trade deficit. Then 24 percent for Japan apply, 20 percent for the EU and even tariffs of 34 percent for China. China had announced corresponding counter -tariffs in the same amount on Friday. As the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced, there were discussions with representatives of large US companies, including Tesla and GE Healthcare, at the weekend.

It does not look like a solution to the customs conflict. “I don’t want anything going down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to get something in order,” said Trump on weekends. “I spoke to many Europeans, Asians, all over the world. They are all very interested in making a deal,” he said. Trump asked China and other countries to address trade deficits. “If we don’t solve this problem, I won’t do a deal”. The market interpreted these statements as holding on the tariffs.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba explained on Monday that the government examined the non -tariffs shown by the USA and check whether Japan could respond to the US claims. “Our country has put a lot of effort into creating jobs and investments in the USA,” Ishiba told a parliamentary committee. “We never pulled an advantage out of it or did something unfair,” he added.

China is well prepared to deal with the US tariffs by using a number of political instruments, including monetary and fiscal loosening, as the government-related newspaper People’s Daily reports. Sencies in the minimum reserve requirements for banks and a reduction in key interest rates could be introduced at any time depending on the situation, while the Chinese budget deficit still has scope for further expansion. Beijing will take “extraordinary efforts” to promote domestic consumption and take concrete measures to stabilize the capital markets.

Technology values ​​were under pressure in the region. BYD Electronic (-22.4%) is an important Apple supplier. Lenovo’s shares, the world’s largest PC manufacturer, bent by 22.9 percent. From April to December 2024, the group achieved around 33 percent of its sales in the United States. For the shares of Tencent and Alibaba, it went down by 12.5 and 18.0 percent.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell by 4.2 percent. The index has completely made the profits since the beginning of the year. It was also the greatest loss of day since March 2020. The financial sector lost 4.9 percent due to worries that the country’s central bank could reduce interest rates in response to economic weaknesses caused by tariffs. National Australia Bank, Anz, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost between 4.5 and 6.2 percent.

Financial values ​​were also under pressure in Tokyo. The short -term prospects for further interest rate increases by Japan’s bank have reduced, it said. The shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell by 10 percent, while Dai-Eichi Life Holdings fell by 13 percent.

Dow Jones