Global markets were in a tailspin on Thursday as policymakers and trade partners expressed dismay over president’s latest trade-war salvo.
How the tariffs are going down
President Trump on Wednesday described his sweeping barrage of tariffs on about 60 countries, unveiled with great pomp in the Rose Garden, as “kind.”
The global response to the reciprocal tariffs — including an additional 34 percent levy on goods from China and 20 percent on those from the European Union — has been anything but.
Policymakers reacted with fury as corporate bosses brace for the biggest disruption to global trade in decades. The new trade duties are dismaying investors, too, as they appear far worse than expected. Even some Senate Republicans are pushing back.
The latest: The S&P 500 looks set to open deep in the red, as shares in Asia and Europe plunged on Thursday. Trump said the tariffs would usher in “a golden age” and generate “trillions and trillions of dollars.”
Thursday’s global stock sell-off could be in the trillions, too, with U.S. equities the hardest hit. Deutsche Bank strategists in London warned that the S&P 500 could tumble into correction territory on Thursday.
Among the big losers on Thursday: retailers and tech stocks with sprawling global chains such as Apple, Nike, Ralph Lauren and Walmart in pre-market trading. The prices of the dollar, oil, and Bitcoin are down, too, and there’s been a sell-off in Treasury bonds.