Trump’s New Tariffs Stun Stocks as Havens Rise – Asia Market Wrap

Asia saw a worsening of the global equity selloff, while the Dollar gained strength and Treasury yields slightly decreased as investors avoided high-risk investments due to Trump’s escalation of tariffs.

After the S&P 500 fell 1.6% on Thursday, wiping out its gains for the year, a benchmark of Asian stocks fell the most in over a month. Following its most recent earnings, Nvidia shares fell 8.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 fell 2.8%. European equity-index futures indicated that the drop would continue.

Stock indices fell as investors feared that Trump’s most recent round of tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico will have an adverse effect on economic development. Considered a ‘Trump trade,’ Bitcoin fell while a measure of the strength of the Dollar increased. Riskier newcomers to the market were avoided by investors, and Hong Kong’s tech shares suffered greatly as a result.

Trump announced that a 10% additional tax will be applied to Chinese imports, and that 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would take effect on March 4th. Tariffs, according to economists, might hinder US GDP, increase inflation, and even cause recessions in Canada and Mexico. The plan calls for raising tariffs on well over $1 trillion worth of imports unless there is a last-minute respite.