Asian shares tumbled on Monday after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose more tariffs on China, spooking investors who had been expecting good news this week on trade.
The Shanghai Composite index plunged 5.2 per cent to 2,918.65, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 3.4 per cent to 29,060.87.
The future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.9 per cent to 26,003.00, while that for the S&P 500 also shed 1.9 per cent, to 2,892.20, reports AP.
Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday, but the future contract for the benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 2.5 per cent. Shares also fell sharply in Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and Indonesia.
The revived tensions over trade caused oil prices to sink. Benchmark US crude shed $1.49, or 2.4 per cent, to $60.46 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
It gained 13 cents to $61.94 per barrel on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, gave up $1.57, or 2.2 per cent, to $69.28 per barrel. It rose 10 cents on Friday to $70.85 per barrel.
The turmoil in other markets pushed the Japanese yen, viewed as a safe haven for investors, higher against the dollar.
The greenback was trading at 110.60 Japanese yen by midday Monday, down from 111.11 yen on Friday.
The euro weakened to $1.1195 from $1.1200 on Friday.