Explainer | From Wall Street’s ‘Black Thursday’ to Covid-19, how Trump’s tariffs compare to worst crashes
China’s retaliation to Trump’s tariffs caused historic stock market collapses in Asia and Europe, reminiscent of past financial crises
Monday’s stock market collapses in Asia and Europe after China retaliated for steep US tariffs revived memories of similar market turmoil after the Covid pandemic and the last global financial crisis.
Analysts called the falls “historic” and some even described it as a “bloodbath”, recalling previous collapses since the start of the last century.
Global stocks crashed in March 2020 after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, putting much of the world under lockdown.
On March 12, 2020 – the day after the announcement – Paris fell 12 per cent, Madrid 14 per cent and Milan 17 per cent. London dropped 11 per cent and New York 10 per cent in the worst fall since 1987.
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Further falls came over the following days, with US indexes dropping more than 12 per cent.