Asian markets sink amid Wall Street losses, new U.S. tariffs against EU

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Asian markets fell in early trading Thursday, following losses on Wall Street triggered by fresh worries about an economic slowdown.

U.S. stocks are off to their worst start to a quarter since 2008, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average












DJIA, -1.86%










  has lost more than 800 points in the past two days. Data showing slower job creation and weaker manufacturing output are indicating that the Trump administration’s trade war is taking a toll on the U.S. economy.

Global markets were further uneased after the U.S. announced late Wednesday that it planned to slap tariffs as high as 25% on $7.5 billion of European imports, after the WTO ruled the EU improperly favored Airbus over Boeing in a long-running trans-Atlantic dispute.

“The dreary economic data does perhaps suggest that traders could be better sellers in this risk-toxic environment,” Stephen Innes, Asia-Pacific market strategist at AxiTrader, said in a note.

Japan’s Nikkei












NIK, -2.02%










  dropped 2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index












HSI, -0.62%










  slipped 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200












XJO, -2.09%










  fell 1.9% and New Zealand’s NZX 50












NZ50GR, -1.07%










  slid 1.2%, while benchmark indexes in Taiwan












Y9999, -0.77%










 , Singapore












STI, -0.85%










 , Malaysia












FBMKLCI, -0.51%










  and Indonesia












JAKIDX, -0.25%










  all declined. Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed for holidays.

Among individual stocks, SoftBank












9984, -2.31%










 , Fast Retailing












9983, -2.82%










 , Toyota












7203, -2.57%










  and Honda












7267, -2.45%










  all sank in Tokyo trading. Casino operator Galaxy Entertainment












27, +1.95%










  rose in Hog Kong, while Wharf Real Estate












1997, -1.83%










  and CNOOC












883, -1.52%










  declined. In Australia, Beach Energy












BPT, -1.83%










 , BHP












BHP, -2.93%










  and Westpac Banking












WBC, -2.29%










  all fell.



Source : MTV