Hong Kong stocks plunge 12 on trade war

Electronic sign board showing the Heng Seng Index stocks in Hong Kong on April 7, 2025. [AFP]

Shares in Hong Kong plummeted more than 12 percent Monday in their worst day in more than 16 years as China's retaliation against Donald Trump's tariffs ramped up a trade war and fuelled recession fears.

The Hang Seng Index plunged 12.4 percent, or 2,828.49 points, to 20,021.32, while in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index shed 7.7 percent, or 258.21 points, to 3,083.80.

The sharp selloff came amid a collapse in Asian markets that came after China said late Friday it would impose retaliatory levies of 34 percent on all US goods from April 10.

The announcement followed the US president's unveiling of sweeping tariffs against US trading partners for what he says are years of being ripped off and claims that governments were lining up to cut deals with Washington.

Firms across all sectors were in the firing line, with tech giant Alibaba diving more than 17 percent and rival JD.com shedding 15 percent, while Chinese developers lost more than 10 percent. Market operator Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing was also hammered 15 percent.