Asian markets plunge as Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dives nearly 8% after the big meltdown on Wall St

Japan’s share benchmark nosedived on Monday after the meltdown Friday on Wall Street over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 8% shortly after the market opened and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 tumbled more than 6%.

South Korea’s Kospi lost 4.4%.

U.S. futures signaled further weakness. The future for the S&P 500 lost 4.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 3.5%. The future for the Nasdaq lost 5.3%.

On Friday, Wall Street’s worst crisis since COVID slammed into a higher gear. The S&P 500 plummeted 6% and the Dow plunged 5.5%. The Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8%.

The losses came after China matched President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs announced earlier this week.