Asian shares sink, with Japan's Nikkei down 5.6% as China-US trade war escalates

Shares in Asia have fallen in early trading after U.S. stocks surrendered a chunk of their historic gains from the day before

Friday 11 April 2025 02:13 BST

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Asian shares sank Friday in early trading after U.S. stocks surrendered a chunk of their historic gains from the day before.

The deepening worries over President Donald Trump’ s trade war helped pull Japan’s Nikkei 225 share index down 5.6%.

Shares also fell in South Korea and Australia in early trading Friday.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 tumbled 3.5%, slicing into Wednesday’s surge of 9.5% following Trump’s decision to pause many of his tariffs worldwide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,014 points, or 2.5%, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 4.3%.

China announced more countermeasures against the United States and losses for U.S. stocks accelerated after the White House clarified that the United States will tax Chinese imports at 145%, not the 125% rate that Trump had written about in his posting on Truth Social Wednesday, once other previously announced tariffs were included. The drop for the S&P 500 exceeded 6% at one point.

Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Thank you for registering

Asian shares sink, with Japan's Nikkei down 5.6% as China-US trade war escalates

Shares in Asia have fallen in early trading after U.S. stocks surrendered a chunk of their historic gains from the day before

Asian shares sink, with Japan's Nikkei down 5.6% as China-US trade war escalates

Thank you for registering