World markets dive on trade war gloom
European markets plunged this morning as investors grappled with the possibility of a recession after sweeping tariffs announced by US last week.
US President Donald Trump showed no sign of backing away from the tariff plans despite retaliation from China, pushing investors to price in interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve.
Traders are now pricing an ECB deposit rate at 1.7% in December from 1.75% on Friday and 1.9% last week before Trump’s tariff announcement.
The Frankfurt DAX sank over 7% in early trade, while the Paris CAC slumped 6.6% and London’s FTSE index lost 5.3%.
Dublin’s ISEQ index had dropped 5% in early trade, with big falls in Kingspan, Ryanair and the banks.
Earlier, shares in Hong Kong plummeted more than 12% today in their worst day in more than 16 years as China’s retaliation against Donald Trump’s tariffs ramped up a trade war and fuelled recession fears.
The Hang Seng index plunged 12.4%, while in mainland China the Shanghai Composite Index shed 7.7%.
The sharp selloff came amid a collapse in Asian markets that came after China said late Friday it would impose retaliatory levies of 34% on all US goods from April 10.
The announcement followed the US president’s unveiling of sweeping tariffs against US trading partners for what he says is years of being ripped off, and claims that governments were lining up to cut deals with Washington.
Firms across all sectors were in the firing line, with tech giant Alibaba diving more than 17% and rival JD.com shedding 15%, while Chinese developers lost more than 10%. Market operator Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing was also hammered 15%.
Meanwhile, Australia’s benchmark stock index closed 4.2% lower today, recording one of its worst trading days in more than a year as US tariffs and China’s reprisals roiled global markets.
A benchmark index of the country’s largest 200 listed companies sank to its lowest since late 2023, extending losses first sparked last week by US President Donald Trump’s bombshell tariff announcement.
Taiwan stocks plummeted almost 10% today, the biggest one-day percentage fall on record, in the first trading since US tariffs were announced last week, with Taiwan’s president taking to X to pledge a “golden age” of shared prosperity with the US.
Taiwan, hit with a 32% duty, was singled out by US President Donald Trump as among the US trading partners with one of the highest trade surpluses with the country.
After resuming trade today following market holidays on Thursday and Friday, Taiwan’s benchmark stock index plunged to its lowest level in more than a year.
Japan’s key Nikkei 225 index of shares closed 7.8% today, after slumping nearly 9% in earlier trade, as concerns over a tariff-induced global recession continued to rip through markets.
Wall Street stocks suffered another bruising sell-off on Friday as major indices slumped more than 5% following President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies.
US equities spent the entire session in the red, shrugging off solid employment figures and fixating on China’s quick retaliation against the US levies.
The broad-based S&P 500 led the major indices lower, ending at 5,074, down 6% for the day and more than 9% for the week.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 5.8% to close at 15,588, placing it in a bear market, defined as a 20% fall from a recent high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 5.5% to end at 38,315, its first close under 40,000 points since August.
Article Source – World markets dive on trade war gloom – RTE