Asian Markets Tumble Amid Escalating Trump Tariff Turmoil

Asian markets took a serious hit on Monday, adding fuel to the global stock market meltdown that’s been spiraling ever since US President Donald Trump ramped up his trade war.

Japan’s Nikkei dropped more than 8% right after the market opened — a massive fall that dragged it below the 33,000 mark for the first time since August 2024. The broader Topix index also took a dive, down more than 7.5% after an even steeper fall earlier in the day.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba responded by saying the government is going to keep pressing the US to ease off on tariffs — but admitted that progress won’t happen overnight. In the meantime, he said Japan will use “all available means” to cushion the blow, including financial support for local businesses and job protection measures.

And it's no wonder — Trump just hit Japan with a hefty 24% across-the-board tariff, despite the two countries being long-time defense allies. That tariff is set to kick in later this week.

The crash in Asia follows Wall Street’s worst two-day stretch in five years. Futures for US stocks nosedived Sunday night, following a sell-off that already wiped out over $5.4 trillion in market value.

Investors around the world are not loving Trump’s aggressive tariff playbook — some of the new levies went into effect over the weekend, with even bigger ones due on Wednesday.

China’s already hit back hard, slapping a 34% tariff on all US goods, which has everyone worried that this trade war is only going to get nastier.

Speaking to reporters from Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump said he didn’t mean to crash the markets, but didn’t exactly calm any nerves either. "What’s going to happen with the market? I can’t tell you,” he said. “But I can tell you, our country has gotten a lot stronger…”

Back in the US, stocks are expected to open sharply lower on Monday — pushing the S&P 500 to the edge of a bear market (that’s Wall Street talk for a 20% drop from recent highs — not good).

The fallout wasn’t limited to Japan, either. South Korea’s Kospi plunged more than 4.8% after opening, triggering a circuit breaker that halted trading for five minutes. Over in Taiwan, the Taiex dropped a brutal 9.7%. Big names like TSMC and Foxconn each tumbled nearly 10%, also triggering circuit breakers.

Australia’s ASX 200 shed as much as 6.3% in early trading, and even New Zealand’s NZX 50 dropped more than 3.5%.

Bottom line? Global markets are spooked, and there’s a lot of uncertainty ahead.