Stock Market Crash Live Updates, April 7: The world woke up to a financial bloodbath as on-the-edge markets saw a massive plunge that wiped out trillions of dollars amid an intensifying trade conflict between the US and China.
The Sensex crashed by nearly 3,000 points, and the Nifty fell below the crucial 22,000 level which wiped out lakhs of crores in investor wealth. Japan's Nikkei tumbled 7 per cent, South Korea's Kospi fell 5 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng crashed over 10.5 per cent.
European stock markets plummeted, with Frankfurt slumping as much as 10 percent as a global sell-off intensified on US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Trump denied he was intentionally engineering a sell-off and insisted he could not foresee market reactions, saying he would not make a deal with other countries unless trade deficits were solved. "Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," he said.
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Stock Market LIVE Updates: Singapore's Benchmark Index Sees Biggest Drop Since 2008
Market turmoil triggered by new US tariff measures sent Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) plunging 8.7 per cent at the open to 3,494.39 points.
The sharp drop marked the STI's steepest single-day decline since an 8.9 per cent plunge during the 2008 global financial crisis, and exceeded the 8.4 per cent fall seen in March 2020 amid Covid-19.
The Securities Investors Association (Singapore) noted in a report that while Singapore's stock market had remained relatively resilient in recent weeks despite looming tariff concerns, it "ultimately caved in" when broad-based selling took hold on Friday.
Hong Kong Stock Markets See Worst Say Since 1997
Shares in Hong Kong plummeted more than 13 per cent on their worst day in almost three decades. The Hang Seng Index ended down 13.22 percent, or 3,021.51 points, to 19,828.30 -- its heftiest drop since 1997 during the Asian financial crisis -- while the Shanghai Composite Index shed 7.34 percent, or 245.43 points, to 3,096.58.
Firms across all sectors were in the firing line, with tech giant Alibaba diving 18 percent and rival JD.com shedding 15.5 percent, while Chinese developers lost as much as 15 percent. Market operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing was also hammered more than 14 percent.
Stock Market LIVE Updates: China Calls US Tariffs 'Bullying'
Threats and pressure are not the right way to deal with China, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said after describing US President Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" as bullying.
The tariffs are "typical unilateralism and protectionism, and economic bullying", spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press conference, adding that US tariffs in the name of reciprocity only serve its own interest at the expense of other countries.
"The abuse of tariffs by the United States is tantamount to depriving countries, especially those in the Global South, of their right to development," Lin said, citing a widening gap between the rich and poor in each country, and less developed countries suffering a greater impact.
Stock Market Updates LIVE: European Stocks Crash At Open
European stock markets plummeted at the start of trading, with Frankfurt slumping as much as 10 per cent.
Indices were in freefall, with Paris diving more than six percent, London sliding nearly six percent, losses of more than five percent in Amsterdam and Oslo and Milan down over three percent.
Stock Market Crash LIVE: Sensex, Nifty Slump Over 5%
Sensex and Nifty cracked over 5 per cent, in tandem with massive sell-offs across the board, as US President Donald Trump's tariff hikes and retaliation from China fuelled investors' jitters amid fears that a full-blown trade war will impact economic growth across the globe.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex crashed 3,939.68 points or 5.22 per cent to 71,425.01 in early trade. The NSE Nifty tumbled 1,160.8 points or 5.06 per cent to 21,743.65.
During the afternoon trade, the BSE benchmark quoted 3,205.31 points or 4.25 per cent lower at 72,159.38, and the Nifty traded with a cut of 1,038.95 points or 4.54 per cent at 21,865.50.
