Asian, European, and U.S. Stock Futures Plunge—Is This the Start of a Global Selloff?
Markets wake up to a bloodbath as futures across Asia, Europe, and the U.S. nosedive. No safe havens here—just red screens and sweaty traders.
What’s driving the panic? Who cares—the algos are selling first and asking questions later. Classic ‘risk-off’ behavior, except this time even the ‘smart money’ looks clueless.
Meanwhile, crypto markets yawn. Bitcoin’s still trading sideways—because why move when traditional finance is doing the entertaining for once?
Closing thought: If stocks are crashing but no CNBC anchor is screaming about it, does it even count as a correction? (Spoiler: Your portfolio thinks so.)
Trump’s tariffs hit Asia first
The damage showed up immediately in Asia. On Friday, indexes across the region dropped fast after the new rates went public. Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended the session down 243.99 points, or 0.59%, closing at 40,825.83.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index led the regional losses, falling 117.23 points, or 3.61%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 150.71 points, or 0.61%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index lost 0.23% in turbulent trading.
Australia’s ASX 200 fell 77.40 points, or 0.89%, finishing at 8,665.40. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.46%, and India’s Nifty 50 slid 72.60 points, or 0.29%, settling at 24,695.75. As of 9:30 a.m. IST, the BSE Sensex had dropped 0.34%.
Among tech names, the losses were worse. In Tokyo, Tokyo Electron plunged 17% as of 11 a.m. Singapore time. Other Japanese tech names followed: Lasertec dropped 4.67%, Advantest Corp fell 2.51%, and SoftBank Group declined 2.07%. The only stock moving up was Renesas Electronics, gaining 0.7%.
In South Korea, SK Hynix dropped 5.12%, while Samsung Electronics lost 1.92%. Taiwan’s TSMC fell 1.72%, and Foxconn, known formally as Hon Hai Precision Industry, moved up 1.12%.
Hong Kong’s worst performers included China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, down 5%, Zhongsheng Group Holdings, which lost 3.02%, and Li Auto, off by 2.6%.
The yuan lost ground fast, on track for its worst weekly slide in over six months. The offshore version dropped 0.7% since July 25, while the onshore yuan was down 0.6%, its steepest drop since February. On Friday, the People’s Bank of China set its reference rate below 7.15, signaling continued pressure. Traders noted the central bank widened the gap between the fix and estimates for the second day in a row, after pledging renewed support for the currency.
James Liu, a currency strategist at Taikang Capital, said, “The dollar’s strength broke the yuan out of its tight trading range and created new openings for short-term plays.”
Europe opens weak as global pressure builds
By the time European traders got to their desks, the tone had already been set. London’s FTSE 100 opened 0.2% lower, Germany’s DAX started the session down 0.6%, France’s CAC 40 was flat, and Italy’s FTSE MIB dipped 0.1%. Broader European benchmarks also reacted, with the Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.3% and the Euro Stoxx 50 off 0.5%.
The new tariff structure sparked confusion in global trade desks. The WHITE House said products rerouted to bypass U.S. duties would be hit with another 40%. But there were no details on what exactly counts as transshipment, or how Washington plans to enforce it. That vagueness triggered a wave of risk-off sentiment and left investors guessing how deep the impact could run.
Back in Europe, big-name companies were lining up to report. AXA, Daimler Truck, Melrose Industries, Saint-Gobain, Euronext, IAG, Pearson, and Engie were all scheduled to publish earnings Friday. But even before those numbers hit, the market had already taken its cue from Trump.
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