Asian Stocks Take a Plunge as Regulators Try To Quell Recession Fears

TaiwanPlus News

Asia markets crashed on Monday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's heavy tariffs on the region. Regulators tried to minimize impacts on the market, putting temporary limits on trading to prevent short-selling.

Transcript

00:00Down, down, down.

00:02Markets across Asia plummeted on Monday as investors fear a global recession after U.S.

00:07President Donald Trump announced heavy tariffs on 180 countries last week.

00:12Among those hit the hardest, Asian countries.

00:16Taiwan's TAIX had its worst day on record, closing under 20,000 points after a nearly

00:2110 percent drop.

00:23Japan's Nikkei triggered a circuit breaker after dropping 8 percent in the morning but

00:27closed at 7 percent.

00:30And the Shanghai and Hong Kong indexes also dropped in their first day of trading since

00:33the tariffs announcement, with the Hang Seng plunging a whopping 13 percent after a long

00:38weekend.

00:39As investors panicked, Trump shrugged off concerns.

00:42Is there pain in the market at some point?

00:46You're unwilling to tolerate this idea of a Trump put.

00:48Is there a threshold?

00:50I think your question is so stupid.

00:53I don't want anything to go down.

00:55But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.

00:59Trump's aides said that over 50 countries have sought talks with the White House to

01:03eliminate the tariffs.

01:05Taiwan's government has also responded, seeking to appease the U.S. after Trump slapped a

01:1032 percent tariff on its exports.

01:12And its financial regulatory body also implemented temporary measures ahead of Monday's market

01:17opening, including massive limits on short selling, an attempt to keep traders from trying

01:22to profit from the uncertainty.

01:48Despite the sharp fall, people in Taipei were optimistic that the TAIX's historic plunge

02:00would just be a brief fluctuation after the tariffs.

02:18But based on the dismal market performance on Monday, it's clear that many investors

02:36are worried about the economy.

02:38And if the market continues sinking, their worst fears may become reality.

02:43Andy Hsu, Justin Wu, Leon Lien, Rick Lauer and Tiffany Wong in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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