06:36 AM EDT, 04/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets swooned on Monday as investors digested US Trump Administration tariffs and Beijing's countermeasures, dimming the outlook for global trade.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo finished solidly in the red, as did other regional exchanges.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened sharply lower on Wall Street cues and could not recover, finishing off 7.8% as traders mulled rising import and export levies on international trade. A stronger yen undercut export issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 2,644.00 to 31,136.58, as losing issues outnumbered losers 225 to zero.

Losing less than the rest was Oriental Land, down 0.9%, while industrial robot maker Yaskawa Electric declined 20.2%.

In economic news, average wages in Japan rose 3.1% on the year in February, but after adjustment for inflation, real pay fell 1.2%, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reported.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and declined to the close, finishing off 13.2%, as tech issues crumpled.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 3,021.51 to 19,828.30, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 83 to zero. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 17.2% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 9.2%.

Losing least was the utility CLP, down 0.2%, while Wuxi Biologics retreated by 26.4%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 7.3% to 3,096.58.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 5.6%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 9.7%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 4.2%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 7.5%. Exchanges in Bangkok were closed on holiday, and in late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 3%.