US$1 trillion wiped out of global markets led by tech carnage after China vows tariffs on 5,000 US products in trade war escalation
- US tech bellwethers were among the hardest-hit stocks, with Apple and Tesla both dropping more than 5 per cent
- Market sell-off resumed after China said it would impose 25 per cent duties on a portion of US$60 billion worth of US goods starting on June 1
The escalating US-China trade war wiped out more than US$1 trillion of stock market value on Monday, led by losses in the tech sector, after China announced it would respond to US tariff increases with additional duties on US$60 billion of American goods.
European shares lost 1.2 per cent and emerging-market stocks shed 1.7 per cent. The declines were the most severe in the US, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both dropping 2.4 per cent. The Nasdaq fell 3.4 per cent, its biggest daily percentage loss of the year.
“China’s tariff move today was expected, but the severity caught investors off guard,” said Dan Ives, a New York-based tech analyst with Wedbush Securities.
A battle on the China front is “the last thing” Apple and the tech sector need as investors “digest these threats from the White House and gauge retaliation impact from China over the coming days”, he said.
US tech bellwethers were among the hardest-hit stocks. Intel fell 2.7 per cent, while Apple dropped 5.4 per cent and Caterpillar lost 5 per cent.