Asian shares tumbled on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly jacked up pressure on China to reach a trade deal in the midst of negotiations, saying he would hike U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods this week.
Asian shares
- MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.9 percent.
- Chinese blue-chips lost more than 6 percent at one point in the morning session.
- Australian shares were off 0.9 percent.
- Japanese financial markets remain closed until Tuesday for a national holiday, but Nikkei 225 futures were down 2.3 percent at 21,965.
- E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 slid 1.9 percent.
Currency
- China’s yuan plunged, with the offshore unit weakening to 6.8215 per dollar.
- The onshore yuan weakened nearly 1 percent to 6.7980 per dollar before bouncing back to 6.7880.
- The euro was down 0.13 percent on the day at $1.1186.
- The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was barely higher at 97.538.
Commodities
In commodity markets, Trump’s tweets sparked a plunge in oil prices.
- U.S. crude dropped 2.2 percent to $60.58 a barrel.
- Brent crude fell 2 percent to $69.45 per barrel.
- Spot gold jumped 0.3 percent to trade at $1,282.80 per ounce.
Bonds
Chinese 10-year treasury futures also jumped, with the most-traded contract, for June delivery rising as much as 0.5 percent. They were last up about 0.3 percent at 96.850.
