In the early trading session this Monday in Asia, the global financial market continued last week's sharp decline, with a new wave of sell-offs across multiple asset classes. As the impact of U.S. tariff policies continues to ferment, investor concerns about the global economic outlook have intensified, leading to an overall escalation of market volatility.
After a cumulative plunge of nearly 10% last week, U.S. stock futures quickly fell at the opening this Monday. The Nasdaq index futures fell by over 5% in early trading, and the S&P 500 index futures also declined by more than 4%, indicating that the market has not yet recovered from the previous sell-off and the demand for safe havens remains high.
The stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region were not spared either. As of press time, Japan's Nikkei 225 index expanded its decline to over 8%, and the Topix index fell by more than 3%. As the downtrend continues, both the Nikkei 225 and Topix index futures hit the limit down and were suspended from trading, leading to a brief market freeze.
South Korea's stock market also suffered heavy pressure, with the KOSPI index down 4.8%. The exchange urgently activated a mechanism to halt programmed trading sell orders to curb downward momentum. South Korea's finance department also promptly stated that it would provide necessary support measures to industries in need to alleviate the chain risks brought by external shocks.
The precious metals market also experienced significant adjustments. COMEX silver fell by more than 5% during the session, briefly dropping to $27.545 per ounce; COMEX gold fell by over 1%, hitting a low of $2989.1 per ounce. As traditional safe-haven assets, the decline in gold and silver suggests that the market may be facing a liquidity crisis or pressure from investors being forced to liquidate.
In the commodity market, the price of WTI crude oil fell nearly 4% during the session, reaching a low of $59.55 per barrel, continuing to hit recent lows, reflecting further negative sentiment on oil demand prospects amid expectations of a global economic slowdown.
The cryptocurrency market has also been caught up in the global asset pullback. Bitcoin's intraday decline reached 5%, Ethereum plunged 10%, and other mainstream crypto assets generally fell, indicating a significant rise in risk aversion towards high-volatility assets.
Despite widespread panic in the market, U.S. Treasury officials attempted to stabilize sentiment in media interviews. According to NBC News, U.S. Treasury Secretary Basente stated that the current market downturn is just a "short-term reaction" and emphasized that there is "no reason" to believe the new round of tariffs by the Trump administration would trigger a U.S. economic recession. He noted that the stock market remains attractive for long-term investments, and short-term fluctuations should not be overly focused on.
Currently, the global market is highly sensitive to macroeconomic policies and economic fundamentals. In the short term, risk aversion and policy uncertainty may continue to dominate market trends, and investors need to be highly vigilant about potential risks arising from intense market volatility.
