Nikkei, Sensex, Taiwan crash, Bitcoin gets crushed, Bill Ackman wants a timeout and Jim Cramer's "not going to panic". Welcome to tariff tantrum week. Are we looking at another Black Monday?

When Tariffs Attack: From Sensex to the Nikkei and Beyond

If you logged into your brokerage app today and screamed, you weren’t alone. Global markets were sucker-punched overnight as Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs sent a shockwave across Asia and beyond. The Sensex? Smashed. The Nikkei? Nuked. The China stock market? Coughing up red candles like it swallowed a firecracker.

Let’s start with the Sensex, India’s benchmark index, which tanked 2,500 points in a single session—its biggest drop in over a year. Traders are calling it the “Modi Meltdown,” but the real blame lies elsewhere. Across the East China Sea, the Nikkei 225 collapsed by around 8%, its worst daily loss since the early days of COVID. And in China, investors braced for what some financial pundits are already dubbing "Black Monday 2.0."

It’s not just equities . Taiwanese authorities scrambled to stabilize their bourse, promising more support if the bloodbath continues. Spoiler alert: it will. According to Reuters, Taiwan’s financial regulators announced it would impose temporary curbs lasting all this week on short-selling to help deal with the tariff-induced market. Panic, but quiet panic.

China’s Ugly Monday: It’s All About Confidence (Or Lack Thereof)

Let’s zero in on China for a second, because if there’s one country that hates losing face, it’s the one that just got hit with another round of U.S. tariffs. Beijing announced 34% tariffs on all imports from the US and stocks of Chinese companies listed in the US fell by 8.9% on Friday. The China stock market opened to what local analysts are calling an “ugly Monday,” with sectors like tech and exports taking the brunt of the damage.

Investors in Shenzhen and Shanghai are pricing in a prolonged trade war, and the sentiment is grim. Traders are selling first, asking questions never. Domestic confidence in the government's ability to retaliate without blowing up the economy is dwindling fast.

And while Beijing hasn’t fired back just yet, make no mistake: a response is coming. Whether it’s through counter-tariffs, currency devaluation, or a strongly worded memo (written in bold font), China’s not going to sit this one out.

And there ends our global tour, but if you’d like to Google, you’ll find it’s happening everywhere.

Brokers Get Hit, Too

The shares of publicly traded online brokers are also taking a hit due to the newly imposed tariffs. Taking a quick look at the numbers at the time of writing, it’s not great reading for the likes of Robinhood (down 9.80%), NAGA (down 2.75%), XTB (down 2.55%) and Plus 500 (down 1.14%) to name just a few.

If your business is involved in international trade, no matter the type, it seems that Trump’s tariffs are causing absolute chaos.

Bill Ackman Calls for a Pause

Enter Bill Ackman, billionaire investor and part-time economic lifeguard. He’s been sounding the alarm about the tariffs and is calling for a 90-day pause to reassess the situation before the global economy gets tossed into a blender.

Ackman warned that Trump’s tariff policy is alienating business leaders and destabilizing markets. He didn’t mince words either, saying the current approach will lead to “an economic nuclear winter” and calling for a strategic timeout before this turns into a self-inflicted recession.

Ackman’s not alone. According to CNBC, other business leaders are quietly losing confidence in Trump’s economic leadership. Publicly, they’re toeing the line. Privately? They’re dusting off their crash helmets and updating their résumés for a move to Zurich.

Bitcoin is No Safe Haven—It’s a Punching Bag

You’d think crypto would thrive in chaos, right? Wrong. Instead of rising from the ashes like a digital phoenix, Bitcoin belly-flopped into the trading week, plummeting nearly 7% as Asian markets opened. According to Bloomberg, BTC got caught in the “risk-off” firestorm and sold off with everything else.

It gets worse. XRP shed 10% in just 24 hours, according to Investing.com, while Binance users reported heavy liquidations and margin calls galore. Crypto bros Tweeting "buy the dip" are now just waving a white flag.

The theory that crypto is a hedge against geopolitical instability is—let’s face it—looking shaky. When panic hits, people don’t turn to Bitcoin . They turn off their phones and Google “how to file for bankruptcy.”

Jim Cramer Isn’t Panicking—But Everyone Else Is

In the midst of the madness, everyone’s favorite Cassandra, Jim Cramer – he of “I feel like a sucker” fame - went on CNBC to say he's “not going to panic.” Which is exactly what someone says right before they panic. While that might sound comforting, it’s like saying you’re not afraid of sharks while your foot is bleeding in the water.

According to Cramer, the fundamentals are still intact, and he’s looking for buying opportunities. Meanwhile, the rest of Wall Street is frantically rebalancing their portfolios and adding canned food stocks to their watchlists.

Buckle Up, It’s Going to Get Bumpy

So here we are—smack in the middle of another Trump-induced market tantrum. Tariffs are back on the menu, crypto is crying in a corner, and even the big-money guys like Bill Ackman are begging for a timeout. If this is a taste of what a second Trump term looks like, investors might want to start practicing their deep breathing exercises—or learning how to trade from a cabin in the woods.