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LAST UPDATE | 7 Apr
THE IRISH STOCK market fell by 5.5% this morning, as markets across the globe continue to brace for the impact of US tariffs.
Just 35 minutes after opening at 8am, the Irish market ISEQ was down 533.43 points to 169.07.
Among the biggest losers were Ryanair, whose price share dropped by over 5%, AIB, who dropped by 6%, and Kingspan Group, who dipped by over 7%.
The dramatic drops come amid global freefall, as European and Asian markets brace for global US tariffs on the import of goods.
European stock markets plummeted in early trading this morning, with Frankfurt slumping as much as 10% as a global sell-off intensified.
Frankfurt has since clawed back some of its early losses, with trade now down around seven% just one hour into the trading day.
Milan dived 7.5% as Paris, Madrid and Amsterdam retreated more than 6%.
London and Oslo lost over five percent in early deals.
“The big flight to cash continues as investors seek a shelter for their money amid the tariff storm,” noted Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Trump has dashed hopes for an easing of policy by calling tariffs ‘medicine’ and investors are absorbing the implications of this bitter pill for the global economy.”
Fears of recession in the United States and beyond caused a sea of red across equity markets, leaving no sector spared.
In Paris, share prices of planemaker Airbus, engine manufacturer Safran and Gucci-owner Kering led losses with each crashing 10%.
German arms company Rheinmetall plunged more than 13% and Commerzbank sank nearly 12% in Frankfurt.
In Asia, stock markets are sharply declining as the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continues to ripple across the globe.
A number of major markets, from Hong Kong to Taipei and Seoul to Tokyo recorded major losses when they opened this morning.
The sharp selloff came amid a collapse in Asian markets after China announced on Friday that it would impose retaliatory levies of 34% on all US goods from 10 April.
China has accused the US of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying over the tariffs.
Foreign affairs spokesman Lin Jian told reporters: “Putting the US first over international rules is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying.”
“Pressure and threats are not the way to deal with China. China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests”.
A number of Asian nations were among the worst hit by Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ announced last week - China will face 34% tariffs, while Taiwan faces 32% tariffs, India 26% and Japan 24%.
As major producers of goods sold globally, Asian countries and territories are facing a direct impact from the tariffs.
They are also highly sensitive to concerns that a global trade war could cause a slowdown or even trigger a recession in the world’s largest economy.
The impact of the looming tariffs was felt across all major Asian stock markets today – perhaps felt the most in Hong Kong, where shares plummeted more than 12% today in their worst day in over 16 years.
The Hang Seng Index plunged 13.2%, while in mainland China the Shanghai Composite Index shed 7.7%.
In Japan, the country’s key Nikkei 225 index of shares plunged 7.8% at the time of close today.
Singapore shed more than eigh%, while Seoul markets gave up more than 5%, triggering a ‘sidecar mechanism’ that briefly halted some trading.
Sydney, Wellington, Manila and Mumbai were also deep in the red.
Trading floors were overcome by a wave of selling today, with no sector unharmed – tech firms, car makers, banks, casinos and energy firms all felt the pain as investors abandoned riskier assets.
Among the biggest losers, Chinese ecommerce titans Alibaba tanked by more than 17%, while Japanese tech investment giant SoftBank dived more than 11% and Sony fell by 9%.
Additional reporting from AFP
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