TOKYO, April 4 (Reuters) - Shares of Japanese banks plunged on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs sparked fears of a downturn in global growth that could choke off a fragile recovery and delay rate increases in the world's fourth-largest economy.
The Tokyo index of banking stocks .IBNKS.T was down 10% at 0537 GMT. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T, Japan's biggest bank by assets, fell 10%.
The hit to banking stocks in Tokyo, some of the world's largest lenders by assets, was a grim reminder of the global impact of Trump's protectionist policies and the shakiness of Japan's own exit from deflation.
After years of stop-start growth and frozen wages, Japan last year finally appeared to break through its long malaise, as prices - and wages - began to rise. In a hugely symbolic move, the central bank raised interest rates for the first time in almost two decades.
Whether that growth path can continue, analysts have said, depends to a large extent on what happens next in the United States. The world's largest economy is the main market for Japanese automakers, the country's economic engine, as well as other industries.
(Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
((david.dolan@thomsonreuters.com;))
Comments