Asia Markets Plunge after Dow Slides 200pts. as No End in Sight to Trade War

Asia markets mostly plunged in the morning sessions on May 30, 2019, as the continuation of trade war between the U.S. and China went on without a possibility of finding an agreement in sight.

At 9:22 local time in Thailand, Nikkei fell 177.76 points or 0.85%, SSEC plunged 23.15 points or 0.79%, HSI dipped 148.41 points or 0.54%, ASX 200 tumbled 45.40 points or 0.70% while Kospi gained 3.85 points or 0.19%.

On May 29, 2019, SET closed at 1,619.36 points, decreased by 12.68 points or 0.78% with a trading value of THB 55.99 billion.

The tension of trade war escalated to a new level as China threatened it would cut off rare earth minerals as a countermeasure in the escalated trade battle. The materials are crucial to the production of iPhones, electric vehicles and advanced precision weapons.

 

Over the night, Dow Jones slipped 221.36 points or 0.87%, S&P 500 skidded 19.37 points or 0.69% and Nasdaq lost 14.07 points or 0.94% while VIX rose 0.40 point or 2.29%.

The moves on Wall Street came as the 10-year Treasury note yield fell to its lowest level since September 2017 before rebounding to about 2.26%.