JAKARTA – Asian countries’ indices were at red at today’s (7/4) closing, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index reporting the steepest drop since 1997 Asian crisis, as AFP reported, cited from BBC.

Hang Seng Index arrived at 19,828.30 at market’s close, being dubbed as “its worst day in 28 years” after crashing 13.22% in one day.

Not only that, Taiwan’s TAIEX also saw massive one-day drop of 9.7% at today’s closing to 19,232.35, the most severe one recorded in its history since 2008.

Previously, Japan’s Nikkei also reported down 7.8%, and South Korea’s KOSPI saw 5.57% decline at its respective closes.

This sharp and collective downturn on Asian indices is mainly driven by the fact that the countries rely heavily on the US as their export markest

Japan, for example, is the one of leading exporters of vehicles for the US, with $40.76 billion in car imports to the U.S. in 2024.

Regarding this, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that Japan should be allowed tariff exemption as Japan is the biggest foreign direct investor to the US, as cited by Mariko Oi, Asia Business Correspondent for BBC.

Instead, the US imposed 24% tariff on Japan. The US also slapped 25% tariff on South Korea, even as high as 46% on Vietnam and 37% on Bangladesh.

“Asia is bearing the brunt of the US tariff hike. While there could be some room for negotiation, a new regime of higher tariffs is here to stay,” added Qian Wang, Asia Pacific Chief Economist of Vanguard. (ZH)