Asian stock markets, including in Taiwan, fell sharply on Tuesday, tracking major losses on Wall Street. The market reaction follows comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in a TV interview refused to rule out the possibility of a U.S. recession or provide clarity on his tariff policies.
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00:00Stocks are down in many of Asia's markets, following a major tumble on Wall Street.
00:05Here in Taiwan, the main stock index, the TAIX, closed down 1.73% on Tuesday, with tech
00:12stocks being particularly hard hit.
00:14Shares in chip giant TSMC, which tends to lead Taiwan's stock market, ended down 2.71%.
00:20Another major tech company, Foxconn, was also down just over 2%.
00:25Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi were also down, while Hong Kong and
00:29Shanghai markets were slightly up.
00:32So what's causing all of this?
00:33Well, many people are pointing to a TV interview given by U.S. President Donald Trump, where
00:38he refused to rule out the possibility of a U.S. economic recession.
00:41But are you expecting a recession this year?
00:47I hate to predict things like that.
00:49There is a period of transition.
00:52Can you give us a sense of whether or not we are going to get clarity for the business
00:56community?
00:57Well, I think so.
00:58But, you know, the tariffs could go up as time goes by, and they may go up, and, you
01:02know, I don't know if it's predictability.
01:04So that's not clarity?
01:06Refusing to rule out a recession is quite a shocking thing to hear from a U.S. president
01:10presiding over an otherwise pretty good economy.
01:13Now that interview broadcast on Sunday, and by Monday, investors were already reacting
01:18strongly.
01:19All of the major indexes in the New York Stock Exchange dropped significantly.
01:23The Dow and S&P 500 both had their worst day of the year, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq had
01:28its worst day since 2022.
01:31And since Taiwan's stock market is led by tech companies, that also has a strong impact
01:35here.
01:36Of course, there are always many factors in play, but uncertainty is likely the main culprit
01:40here.
01:41It's not just that investors don't like tariffs, but Donald Trump hasn't even been consistent
01:45about if or when the tariffs will take effect.
01:48One day they're on, the next day they're off.
01:51Businesses and investors like predictability and stability, but with the back and forth
01:55on tariffs, and Trump's refusal to rule out a U.S. recession, that's certainly not what
02:00they're getting.
02:01Klein Wong and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.