Asia stocks dip on Trump's fresh tariff threat

Washington: Asian stock markets on Monday plunging after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose fresh trade tariffs worth $200 billion on Chinese goods in an attempt to force additional concessions ahead of final negotiations between Beijing and Washington to end a tit-for-tat trade war.

In a series of tweets on Sunday night, the President warned that he would lift tariffs on Friday on a bundle of Chinese goods to 25 per cent from the current 10 per cent threshold, reactivating a threat he removed months ago just as it appears the two economic super-powers are on their way to a deal, CNN reported.

Trump also warned his administration could tax nearly all of the roughly $500 billion of Chinese exports to the US. As a result, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped around 5 per cent by midday on Monday, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was more than 3 per cent lower.

Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday. The announcement also hit US stocks, sending Dow futures down more than 500 points early Monday morning.

The broader S&P 500 was set to open down 2.1 per cent. Nasdaq futures were down 2.3 per cent. The Nasdaq includes a large number of technology stocks that could be hit particularly hard by higher tariffs on Chinese products.

Trump renewed threats came as the US and China gear up for another round of trade talks starting on Wednesday.