Following the substantial downturn seen over the course of the previous session, stocks are likely to see continued weakness in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a sharply lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 2.2 percent.
Ongoing concerns about the impact of a global trade war are likely to weigh on Wall Street after President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, including a 104 percent total levy on Chinese imports, took effect.
China retaliated by announcing it will increase its tariffs on U.S. goods to 84 percent from 34 percent just after midnight on Thursday.
“China urges the US to immediately correct its wrong practices, cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and properly resolve differences with China through equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect,” China’s finance ministry said in a statement, according to a Google translation.
However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed in an interview with Fox Business that China doesn’t actually want to negotiate and called the country “the worst offenders in the international trading system.”
“They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world, and I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them,” Bessent said.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon said in a separate interview with Fox Business that a recession is the “likely outcome” of the tariff turmoil.
“Investors are looking for any indication that the US government might blink in the face of the turmoil. For now, there are no signs of a willingness to back down or hit pause on tariffs,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. “The longer the situation persists, the harder and more complex it will be to unpick.”
Stocks moved sharply higher early in the session on Tuesday but showed a substantial downturn over the course of the trading day. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session and tumbled firmly into negative territory.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but still posted significant losses on the day. The Nasdaq plunged 335.35 points or 2.2 percent to 15,267.91, the S&P 500 slumped 79.48 points or 1.6 percent to 4,982.77 and the Dow slid 320.01 points or 0.8 percent to 37,645.59.
Earlier in the day, the Dow had jumped by nearly 3.9 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq had both surged more than 4 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 3.9 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index shot up by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved sharply lower on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 4.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 4.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 3.7 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are plunging $3.48 to $56.10 a barrel after slumping $1.12 to $59.58 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $3,069.20, up $79 compared to the previous session’s close of $2,990.20. On Tuesday, gold climbed $16.60.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 144.02 yen compared to the 146.27 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1093 compared to yesterday’s $1.0958.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Extend Sell-Off As Tariffs Take Effect
2025-04-09 12:51:10
