Asian shares tumbled Monday after the latest escalation in the US-China trade war renewed uncertainties about global economies.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 started plummeting as soon as trading began and stood at 20,234.87 in the morning session, down 2.3 per cent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.5 per cent to 6,427.20.
South Korea's Kospi lost 1.7 per cent to 1,916.14. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 3.3 per cent to 25,309.37, while the Shanghai Composite was down 1.2 per cent at 2,862.87, reports AP.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 600 points Friday after the latest escalation in the trade war between the US and China rattled investors.
The broad sell-off sent the S&P 500 to its fourth straight weekly loss.
The S&P 500 fell 75.84 points, or 2.6 per cent, to 2,847.11. The index is now down 4.5 per cent for the month. It's still up 13.6 per cent for the year.
The Dow lost 623.34 points, or 2.4 per cent, to 25,628.90. The average briefly dropped 745 points. The Dow has had five declines of 2.0 per cent or more this year, with three of them coming this month.
The Nasdaq gave up 239.62 points, or 3.0 per cent, to 7,751.77. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks skidded 46.52 points, or 3.1 per cent, to 1,459.49.
The price of benchmark crude fell 71 cents to $53.46 a barrel. It sank $1.18, or 2.1 per cent to settle at $54.17 a barrel Friday, as traders worried that the latest escalation in the trade battle could sap global demand for energy. Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 63 cents to $58.71 a barrel.
The dollar fell to 105.24 Japanese yen from 106.65 yen Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1145 from $1.1057.