NTES Plunges 5.73% as U.S.-China Trade Tensions Escalate

On April 4, 2025, NTES experienced a significant drop of 5.73% in pre-market trading, reflecting the broader market sentiment amidst escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

China's finance ministry announced additional tariffs of 34% on all U.S. goods, effective from April 10. This move is a response to the Trump administration's recent tariff increases, which have led to a global trade war and a plunge in world financial markets. The escalating trade tensions have caused U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies to tumble in premarket trading, with NTES being one of the affected stocks.

The global trade war has led to a significant decline in U.S. stock index futures, indicating another round of selloff on Wall Street. The CBOE Volatility index, known as Wall Street's fear gauge, hit its highest level since August 2024, reflecting the heightened market uncertainty. Companies with exposure to China, including NTES, have seen their stock prices fall across the board.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled about 6% on Thursday, its biggest one-day drop since the height of the pandemic-fueled selloff in March 2020. The blue-chip Dow dropped 2.5% in the prior session and the index looked on course to confirm a correction, or a 10% drop from all-time highs. The benchmark S&P 500 dropped 4.8% on Thursday, its largest one-day percentage decline since June 2020, after Trump imposed a 10% tariff on most imports into the United States and much higher levies on dozens of other countries.