Nikkei plunge nears 9% as Japanese bank stocks plummet
Japan’s Nikkei share average tumbled nearly 9% early on Monday, while an index of Japanese bank stocks plunged as much as 17%, as concerns over a tariff-induced global recession continue to rip through markets.
The Nikkei dropped as much as 8.8% to hit 30,792.74 for the first time since October 2023. The index was trading down 7.3% at 31,318.79, as of 0034 GMT, Reuters reports.
All 225 component stocks of the index were trading in the red.
The broader Topix sank 8% to 2,284.69.
A topix index of banking shares slumped as much as 17.3%, and was last down 13.2%.
The bank index has borne the brunt of the sell-off in Japanese equities, plunging as much as 30% over the past three sessions.
Key events
Donald Trump says foreign governments will have to pay “a lot of money” to lift the sweeping tariffs he has characterised as “medicine” and which have routed Asian share markets. Those are among the top lines are in our latest full report on the turmoil.
The Nikkei dropped as much as 8.8% to hit 30,792.74 for the first time since October 2023.
In South Korea, trading on the Kospi index was halted for five minutes at 9.12am as stocks plummeted.
The Taiwan stock exchange said early on Monday it would roll out more policies to stabilise markets if there were “irrational falls”.
See the full report here:
