TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average slumped to an eight-month low on Thursday after US President Donald Trump revealed a broad set of reciprocal tariffs, including a larger-than-anticipated 24% levy on Japanese goods.
The Nikkei dropped as much as 4.6% in early trading, diving to 34,102.00, its lowest point since August 7. By the close, the losses had moderated, with the index finishing down 2.8% at 34,735.93.
The broader Topix lost as much as 4.3% before recovering slightly to end the day 3.1% lower.
“We thought tariffs would be 10%, maybe 20%, but instead they were a whopping 24%,” said Kazuo Kamitani, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities.
“Call it the Trump tariff shock,” he said. “The market is firmly in risk-off mode.”
Banks were the worst performers among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry groups, sliding 7.2%, as a sharp decline in bond yields darkened the outlook for income from lending and investing. The potential impact of tariffs on both domestic and global growth also raised speculation that the Bank of Japan may need to delay further interest rate hikes.