All those moves pivoted around US President Donald Trump’s trade policy decisions and officials’ responses to that across Asia Pacific. And that’s why it’s proving so disruptive for markets in the region.
After a week in which Asian stocks posted both their biggest-ever plunge and their largest one-day gain since 2008, investors in the region are working weekends, skipping sleep, interrupting business trips, poring over social media and focusing on short-term trades, alert to the fact that one man at the furthest point away from them on the planet can upend markets again at any moment.
No wonder financial professionals in the region are on edge. Besides the volatility in equities, Japanese government bonds posted their worst day ever last Tuesday, credit spreads blew out the most since 2000 over the week, the Chinese yuan sank to its weakest level since 2007 and the Indonesian rupiah set an all-time low. The Friday before, the Australian dollar tumbled the most in a day since the global financial crisis.
