Singapore’s stock market crash rocked financial markets on Monday, April 7, 2025, with the Straits Times Index (STI) plummeting by 8.5%. This marked the largest single-day decline since the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis and surpassed the 8.4% fall during the Covid pandemic in March 2020. Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement last Wednesday has triggered widespread financial market volatility across Asia and, well, pretty much everywhere else too.
JUST IN: 🇸🇬 Singapore's stock market suffers worst single-day crash in over 16 years.
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) April 7, 2025
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How The Latest Singapore Stock Market Drop Reflects Global Financial Volatility
Record-Breaking Losses
The Singapore market correction saw all 30 STI constituents declining, with counters falling by 605 to 127. By mid-afternoon, the Singapore stock market crash had actually slightly recovered to a 7.7% fall. Banking stocks led losses, with DBS down 10.6%, OCBC declining 7%, and UOB sliding 8.8% during the morning trading session.
DBS chief economist Taimur Baig stated:
“Despite the spate of announcements, there is still substantial fear that more measures are to come. Perhaps more critical is the notion that nations trying to do a deal with the US will not be able to rest easy upon signing agreements, as no deal with US seems to be reliable any longer.”
Asia-Wide Market Turmoil
The stock market drop was particularly severe across Asia. Japan’s Nikkei fell about 8.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng plunged an incredible 12.6%. The financial market volatility also extended to Australia, where the ASX 200 slid more than 6%, and South Korea, where the Kospi retreated by 5.2% at the time of writing.
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Trade War Implications
Trump’s executive order imposed 10% baseline tariffs on all countries and additional tariffs on what his administration called “worst offenders.” This global stock market crash intensified after China responded with identical 34% tariffs on Friday. Singapore’s market correction reflects growing concerns about the city-state’s vulnerability despite only facing baseline tariffs.
Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong told reporters:
“Singapore’s official gross domestic product growth forecast may be downgraded from the current range of between 1 and 3 per cent, as the situation has turned out to be worse than expected.”
Economic Impact
Singapore’s stock market crash has raised serious recession fears among investors and analysts. DBS economist Chua Han Teng noted that Singapore’s deep integration in global supply chains makes it vulnerable, though pharma and semiconductor exemptions might mitigate some damage. Asia’s stock market drop has prompted expectations that the Monetary Authority of Singapore will probably ease monetary policy in April.
Also Read: China Hits Back At Trump, Calls US Tariffs “Bullying”
Currency Effects
The financial market volatility also hit currencies pretty hard, with the US dollar strengthening more than 1% against the Singapore dollar. The global stock market crash has seen the Australian dollar plummet to just 81 Singapore cents, a level last seen during the 2020 pandemic.
The Singapore stock market crash continues to unfold as part of this wider Asia stock market drop, raising concerns about potential long-term impacts on global economic stability and recovery prospects.