The week appears poised to conclude in a similar fashion to its start, with global markets experiencing upheaval as Trump’s tariffs trigger concerns about a potential recession.
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region displayed a mixed performance, with Japan’s Nikkei 225, a close ally of the U.S., suffering the largest decline at 2.96%. Conversely, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and China’s CSI 300 finished the day on a positive note prior to the announcement of China’s tariff increase.
In Europe, key markets were all trending downwards, notably Germany’s DAX, which slipped nearly 1.7% during morning trading.
The dollar depreciated to its weakest level in a decade against the Swiss franc and hit its lowest point in six months relative to the yen, as reported by Reuters. Meanwhile, the euro soared to its highest value against the U.S. dollar since February 2022, and gold reached yet another record peak.
As of 5 a.m. ET, U.S. stock futures were down between 0.6% and 0.7% following China’s announcement to increase its tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%. The three primary U.S. indices closed lower yesterday, reversing a portion of their gains from a historic rally on Wednesday when Trump revealed a 90-day moratorium on higher targeted tariffs, excluding China.
