Asia-Pacific markets ticked up at Tuesday's open, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index leading the recovery, rebounding 5.4% after steep losses in the previous session sparked by growing concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policy.
By 11:10 am AEST (1:10 am GMT), the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%, Japan’s Nikkei jumped 5.4%, while South Korea’s Kospi 200 climbed 0.7%, continuing the region’s upward momentum despite ongoing global volatility.
Markets had hoped for a breakthrough in tariff negotiations, but Trump’s threats on Monday to impose an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports if Beijing maintains its own levies on U.S. goods have heightened unease.
Overnight in the U.S., Wall Street ended mostly lower amid tariff-related jitters. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9% to 37,965.6, marking a third consecutive day of losses. The S&P 500 declined 0.2% to close at 5,062.2, while the Nasdaq Composite managed a slight gain, rising 0.1% to 15,603.3.
Commodity markets were similarly rattled. Brent crude slid 2.1% to US$64.21 per barrel, spot gold prices dropped 1.8% to US$2,981.94 per ounce, a three-week low.
Chinese equities suffered a sharp sell-off. The Shanghai Composite dropped 7.3% to close at 3,096.6, while the CSI 300 fell 7.1% to 3,589.4. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index posted the steepest one-day loss since 1997, plummeting 13.2% to 19,828.3.
India’s BSE Sensex also declined 3% to settle at 73,137.9.
European markets extended their slide. London’s FTSE 100 fell 4.4% to 7,702.1, while Germany’s DAX dropped 4.1% to 19,789.6. France’s CAC 40 declined 4.8% to 6,927.1.
