World markets slump on tariff concerns

Markets yesterday continued to reverberate from US President Donald Trump's trade war, with Japan stocks slumping, the US dollar continuing to lose ground and oil prices slipping.

- KEVIN GRANVILLE

US stock markets, which reopened yesterday after the Good Friday holiday, were pointing to a lower open. S&P 500 futures were nearly 1% lower.

The Nikkei 225, Japan's benchmark stock index, fell 1.2% in early trading. The Nikkei ended last week on an upswing on hopes of a trade deal with the United States. Elsewhere, Taiwan's benchmark fell 1.4%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.31%. Stocks in Japan and Taiwan, both of which are highly intertwined trading partners with the United States, are the worst performers this year in Asia.

Oil futures, which have fallen as much as 24% since mid-January, were down about 1.5% yesterday, with Brent crude at about $67 a barrel. Oil prices are often considered a barometer of future economic growth, and they have been weighed down by the prospect that Trump's tariffs will damage international trade.