Japan’s Nikkei index suffered its biggest single day drop since June of 2022, closing below 36,000 for the first time since March 11. Advantest Corp, Tokyo Electron, and Fujikura were the three hardest hit, with shares plunging 5.51%, 5.2%, and 5.17% respectively. Investors are eying details from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans. This uncertainty, along with other factors, set off a more general market sell-off.
In addition to the declines from individual dividend-paying stocks, the energy, utilities and healthcare sectors were the largest decliners on a sector basis within the Nikkei. The Topix index also experienced a big reversal, closing down 3.29%. These changes further signal a continuation of the trend that led to a major stock sell-off last Friday.
Farther across the Pacific, U.S. markets reflected this concern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished off 715.80 points, a decline of 1.69%. The S&P 500 soon followed, closing down 1.97%, while the Nasdaq Composite plummeted 2.7%. U.S. futures fell, pointing to more caution among investors.
This market upheaval is almost entirely rooted in the confusion created by the looming threat of a slew of new tariffs and their volatile effect on global trade. As investors continue to wait for more clarity, the financial landscape has become volatile. Speculation over what changes could come to US trade policy is still a dominant negative theme on market sentiment.