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TOKYO: Tokyo stocks extended losses on Wednesday (Apr 9) and the yen jumped against the dollar after US tariffs against a slew of countries including Japan came into force.
Around half an hour after the levies took effect, the Nikkei 225 index was down 4.86 per cent at 31,407.66. The yen strengthened 1.1 per cent to 144.73 per dollar.
Among the other Asian stocks at midday trading, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 2 per cent to 2,286.73 as of 2.43pm local time. Singapore’s key Straits Times Index was down 2.3 per cent to 3,389.41 as of 1.59pm.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.5 per cent to 20,025.54 points as of 1.56pm local time.
The Shanghai Composite Index earlier shedded 1.13 per cent in early trading but recovered by midday, rising 0.87 per cent to 3,172.76 points.
Meanwhile, Taiwan stocks closed down 5.8 per cent on Wednesday, after the tariffs took effect. The Taiex index fell 1,068.19 points to 17,391.76, despite the government activating a US$15 billion stabilisation fund to calm the market, with tech giants Foxconn diving the maximum 10 per cent and TSMC falling 3.8 per cent.
South Korea’s currency meanwhile fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 2009, while oil prices slumped 3 per cent in early Asian trade.
On Tuesday, the Nikkei had rebounded 6 per cent from heavy losses after US President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs last week.
Other markets in Asia and Europe had followed suit, as did Wall Street after three days of near-panic selling.
Sentiment was buoyed by hopes of tariff negotiations between the White House and Japan and South Korea.
But US stocks later turned south and all three major indices finished firmly in the red, with the S&P 500 shedding 1.6 per cent and the Dow Jones off 0.8 per cent.
