Asian Markets Fall as Trump Tariffs and Oil Spike Hit Sentiment
Asian markets fell on Friday after Donald Trump announced new tariffs and oil prices climbed to their highest level since May. Sentiment was also hit by a sharp Wall Street sell-off, as technology stocks came under pressure following results from Alphabet and Tesla.
Investors were unsettled by higher artificial intelligence spending plans, adding to concerns that valuations in the sector may have run too far. Markets are now facing pressure from several directions: escalating conflict in the Middle East, fears of an AI investment bubble and a fresh round of US tariffs.
President Trump is imposing tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 trading partners, covering around 99% of US imports. The Trump administration said the countries had failed to fully enforce bans on goods produced by forced labour. The move comes as stopgap levies imposed by the president were due to expire, following a Supreme Court setback for other tariffs.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 5.9%, with Samsung Electronics down 8% and chipmaker SK Hynix losing 7.4%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 3.1% to 64,377.28, led by losses among technology companies.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.3% to 24,891.84, while the Shanghai Composite shed 1.2% to 3,830.19. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.0% to 8,755.10.
Oil prices added to the pressure, with Brent crude rising as high as US$102 a barrel on Thursday before settling at US$100.69, up 7%. Brent later dipped back below US$100, but remains sharply higher than the roughly US$72 level seen before the Iran war began in late February.
