Japan’s Nikkei enters correction as Trump’s impending tariffs drive sell-off in Asia markets

Asia-Pacific markets plunged Monday ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh round of tariffs expected later in the week, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 entering correction territory.

The benchmark Nikkei index plunged 4.05% to end the day at 35,617.56, losing nearly 12% from its December high. The broader Topix index lost 3.57% to 2,658.73.

Over in South Korea, the Kospi index closed 3% lower at 2,481.12 while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 3.01% to 672.85, with the markets regulator allowing short-selling Monday after the longest ban on the activity in the country’s history.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day 1.74% lower at 7,843.40, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy meeting on Tuesday. The central bank is widely expected to stand pat on interest rates at 4.1% as the country heads to the polls on May 3.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 lost 0.71% to close at 3,887.31 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.09% as of its final hour of trade.

China’s NBS Manufacturing PMI for March came in at 50.5, in line with predictions by economists polled by Reuters and slightly higher than 50.2 reading in the previous month.

Indian markets were closed for a public holiday.

U.S. futures slipped as investors await clarity on Trump’s tariff plans.

Stocks had sold off sharply last Friday, amid growing uncertainty on U.S. trade policy and a bleak inflation outlook.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 715.80 points, or 1.69%, at 41,583.90. The S&P 500 shed 1.97% to 5,580.94, ending the week down for the fifth time in the last six weeks. The Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.7% to settle at 17,322.99.

Shares of several technology giants dropped, putting pressure on the broader market. Google-parent Alphabet lost 4.9%, while Meta and Amazon each shed 4.3%.

— CNBC’s Pia Singh and Sarah Min contributed to this report.