It’s pure chaos.

Since the past week, global markets have plunged into turmoil, with the pace unseen since the Covid pandemic in 2020.

The S&P500—which accounts for 500 of the largest listed US companies—lost over 10%, bringing it back to the level in April 2024.

Since Trump’s Inauguration Day on January 20, the US stock market has wiped out $9.6 trillion—$5 trillion of which evaporated between April 2 and April 4, the largest two-day loss on record.

The carnage continued on Monday.

Major tech stocks—Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon—were not spared.

Within the same period (since April), Apple declined 18%, Nvidia plunged 15%, Microsoft dropped 6%, and Amazon shed 11%. All of them erased their gains made in the past 6-12 months.

The Malaysian market followed.

The FBMKLCI slumped 4.26% to 1,451 points yesterday morning. All the gains in 2024 and 2025 were completely wiped.

Major stocks – Maybank, Public Bank, Tenaga, and CIMB – all fell accordingly.

CIMB, in particular, is now 22.2% away from its 12-year high of RM8.52.

Out of 1,392 listed companies, only 92 stayed in green, and not by a lot.

Global markets are reacting to the shock of Trump’s tariffs.

On April 2nd, Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs across multiple countries.

Malaysia has been hit with 24% reciprocal tariffs from the White House. While this is absurdly high by our standards, it is considerably lower compared to a few of our neighbours (Vietnam: 46%, Cambodia: 49%, Thailand, 36%).

From the figures, you’ll see that the numbers are “discounted by half” against the tariffs charged to the US, according to the White House’s calculations.

Trump said that the discount is an act of “kindness.” He could have charged the full amount to other countries, but he “chose” not to.

What are tariffs anyway? And what does the Orange Man aim to do with them?

Tariffs are a tax placed on foreign goods entering the country. They are usually implemented to protect local producers and strengthen domestic supply chains.

This is why buying local stuff is (usually) cheaper than imported goods.

Usually, the companies that import foreign goods into the country will have to pay the tax to the government. However, these companies can choose to pass some (if not all) of the cost to consumers or import fewer goods.

This is why there must be a balance when it comes to implementing tariffs. You don’t want to charge other countries too high (otherwise they run away), and at the same time, you want to protect local producers.

Trump argues that tariffs will bring back industrialization to America.

He believes that other nations have become more rich and powerful at America’s expense, and that foreign countries, whether friend or foe, have “looted,” “pillaged,” “raped,” and “plundered” the beautiful country.

The steep tariffs will encourage US consumers to buy more local-made goods and major companies to build their factories in the country (at least that’s what Trump hopes).

To “Make America Wealthy Again,” was one of the opening lines of his speech. But so far, America is not becoming more wealthy. In fact, it is trillions poorer, as seen from the performance of the stock market in the past week.

What the experts are saying

On Monday (7 April), I conducted an impromptu discussion on X with financial experts Hann Liew and Sani Hamid to understand Trump’s tariffs and its impacts on the markets.

Both speakers overwhelmingly agreed that this chaos is unnecessary and uncalled for, and that the US has effectively “shot itself on the foot.”

Listen to the replay on Spotify and Apple Podcast.

Scroll down for a QNA summary of the session.

Q1: How will Trump’s tariffs impact everyday consumers?

Hann: The US is imposing unprecedentedly high tariffs on countries around the world—some as high as 48%. That means anything coming into America could cost 10–48% more.

This affects both exporters to the US and consumers around the world. Even if you don’t personally sell to the US, many Malaysian companies do, which is why global markets are taking a hit.

Major exporters like Vietnam, for instance, will suffer. Imagine trying to sell shoes to the US with a 46% tariff—prices will surge, hurting both the shoe companies and the everyday consumers who will have to pay more.

Businesses hit by these tariffs may have to scale down operations, lay off workers, or find other ways to cut costs just to stay afloat.

Sani: Tariffs are typically paid by importers. So if a company like Walmart imports goods from China, it has to either absorb the added cost or pass it on to consumers. Either way, prices go up—and it’s the everyday consumer who feels it most.

Q2: The Wall Street Journal labelled the current situation as “The DUMBEST Trade War in History.” What do you think about this?

Hann: This trade war is totally self-inflicted, stemming from a total misunderstanding of how a trade deficit works.

So to backtrack a little bit, the tariffs charged to the US (calculated by the White House) are not based on any sensible numbers. They are derived from the trade deficit between the US and other counties, plus other “things” which the US accuses foreign countries of committing (ie. manipulation of currencies, trade barriers, etc.).

Malaysia certainly DOES NOT charge the US 47% tariffs.

Actually, a trade deficit for the US is vital. It means that the nation is so strong that it can afford to buy goods from other countries, especially when considering that the US contributes about 30% to global consumption.

I’ll give you a simpler example.

Let’s say you’ve been buying from Giant supermarket your whole life. It’s a chain that has consistently provided you with low prices and juicy deals.

But suddenly, you decide to scrutinize Giant’s profits. You’re mad that the supermarket chain has been making tons of money because of its low prices, and that you’re spending more and more money.

This is despite Giant making everyday things (ie. TV, groceries, other necessities) extremely affordable to you.

So in response to this, you decide to launch a “trade war” against Giant. Do you see how unnecessary this is?

That’s why I completely agree with the Wall Street Journal that this is the “DUMBEST” trade war in history.

Sani: I think the markets are shocked by the way the White House has calculated the tariffs. The objective of this is to penalize other countries that the US has a trade deficit against.

But when you have a trade deficit and use that to impose tariffs against other nations, it becomes very obfuscated and unclear.

When the market looks at these absurdly high rates and other nations responding with their own countermeasures (ie. China retaliating with 34% tariffs, Canada and EU gearing up for additional tariffs), no one knows what’s going to happen to the demand for goods.

And when the market is uncertain, it sells first and asks later, which is the main reason why we’re seeing huge red candlesticks in the past few days.

Q3: Is it a good time to buy now?

Hann: I try not to look at prices too much and instead look at my portfolio positioning.

Let’s say I’m a new investor and have RM50,000 in savings. My goal is to have 50% in stocks and 50% in safe assets (ie. FDs, cash apps, ASB/ASM). Right now, I’m obviously under allocated in stocks, which is why I need to rebalance.

If you’ve got nothing in the stock market, put a little in first. There’s two reasons for this:

• It’s much cheaper. If you’re investing in the FBMKLCI now, you’re basically winding the clocks back a year.

• Exposure. There’s nothing more important than getting exposure in the markets, because when you’ve invested your money, you’ll be more aware of market movements and pay attention to your investments.

It’s always a good time to start when there’s chaos, but now’s not a good time to be a hero. So start a little, but don’t catch a falling knife.

Sani: Looking at how things are going, there is a large probability of the US entering a recession, and stocks (whether US or Malaysia) could go on a downtrend similar to the 2008 financial crisis or 1998 Asian financial crisis.

I agree with Hann on not catching a falling knife. Let the market stabilize first before rushing in to invest.

If I have a sum of money, I would Dollar Cost Average (DCA) it over a period of 18 months, investing a small sum every month just to “average” out the losses and potential gains.

A 10% drop in the markets may seem like a lot, but if you think this is the end, think again. It may go much lower.

Q4: Are US stocks still good to invest in light of this situation?

Sani: A lot of people have only seen the US only go up and up, and they think that it is the most investable market.

But prior to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998, NO ONE wanted to touch the US. It was all about emerging markets in Asia (ie. ASEAN, Korea, Taiwan). The US wasn’t giving any healthy returns.

This means that there is a cyclical movement between emerging markets and the US.

For the past 13 years, the US market has outperformed the rest of the world, but recently, there are signs that US stocks are very expensive. In the past couple of months, you’ll find that emerging markets and Europe have outperformed America.

Going forward, there may be continued outflows from the US, amplified further by the weakening dollar.

Hani: Unless you really understand the US market more than anyone else, there’s no good reason to ONLY invest in America.

The main selling factor of acquiring US stocks is because they are the most internationalized. Apple’s products, YouTube (owned by Google), Microsoft, Nvidia and its computer chips, Meta and WhatsApp, are all US companies that are used by people around the world.

This is still true, no matter what’s happening on the political front in the US.

However, if you think that this will not be the case in the next 10-15 years, then you may need to consider alternatives, such as buying a fund that tracks global stocks (MSCI world tracking ETFs).

Either way, don’t just commit 100% to a single asset. Diversification across multiple regions (including Malaysia) is crucial.

This write up does not fully encapsulate the thoughts shared by both speakers. Any insights shared belong to Hann and Sani. Any errors, assume it is my misinterpretation.

As always, I highly recommend you to listen to the full replay on Spotify and Apple Podcast.

Hann Liew is a personal finance expert with over a decade of experience in the financial industry. Previously the CEO of RinggitPlus, he is a licensed financial planner (CFP) and a chartered financial analyst (CFA), and has helped tens of thousands of Malaysians on their path toward financial literacy. Hann is currently the founder of Halogen Capital, the world's first Shariah-compliant crypto fund manager that provides institutional exposure to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Mr. Sani Hamid is an economist and certified financial planner (CFA). He’s a frequent commentator in the media and has over 30 years of experience in the financial markets, having worked for companies such as S&P Ratings as a Director in the sovereign team overseeing the ratings of countries such as Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and Singapore.

⚠️ Disclaimer: Financial planning is a complex process and these two speakers can only offer their general opinions. If you want more detailed planning and advice, you can DM both of these speakers personally (priority is given to patrons of The Futurizts).