Global Stock Markets

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Global markets

Global markets are tumbling amid fears that President Trump's tariffs will start a full-blown trade war. US stock market futures plunged Sunday, with the Dow falling 1.4%, or over 600 points. The S&P 500 futures dropped 1.9%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 2.4%. Bitcoin was also down 3.5% over the last 24 hours. The selloff in the futures market implies the indexes will also open lower when trading kicks off today at 9:30 a.m. ET. Similarly, Asian markets declined on the tariff news: Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's KOSPI both closed lower by more than 2%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat. China's Shanghai index was closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

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? Global uncertainty rising

Data: Federal Reserve research. Chart: Axios Visuals The new consensus among business owners and economists is that President Trump's colossal tariff announcement, after markets close today, is just the start of global economic uncertainty, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes. Why it matters: Many once hoped the much-hyped reciprocal tariff announcement would settle worldwide economic confusion. Now the fear is that recent weeks' trade drama — tariff flip-flops and policy hanging in the balance — will stick around for the next four years. It's a backdrop that makes long-term planning impossible, a separate risk for a teetering economy. Today's tariff news "will not bring the level of certainty that businesses need to make hiring and investment decisions," Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at accounting firm RSM, wrote on "Liberation Day" eve. ?️ The big picture: Trump could announce tariffs as high as 20% on almost all imports, The Washington Post's Jeff Stein and David Lynch report. That, along with other tariffs implemented this year, would bring the effective U.S. tariff rate to almost 33%, the highest since 1872, according to the Budget Lab at Yale. Screenshot: Fox News The previously announced tariffs on foreign-made cars, as well as levies on goods from Canada and Mexico, are also set to take effect. Economists expect swift retaliation from trading partners.

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Global markets

President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war continued to cause turmoil today across world financial markets. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 7.9% lower and the Shanghai Composite Index ended down more than 7%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled nearly 12% while South Korea’s Kospi finished 5.6% lower. In Europe, Germany’s Dax opened down 9% and London’s FTSE was off about 5%. The picture is just as grim on Wall Street, where stocks are set to open sharply lower, putting the S&P 500 on the precipice of a bear market — a decline of 20% from its peak and an ominous sign for investors and perhaps the broader economy.

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? Charted: World beats America

Data: Financial Modeling Prep. Chart: Axios Visuals American stocks are underperforming international equities at their widest margin since the financial crisis, Axios Markets author Madison Mills writes. Why it matters: Investors are worried about policy uncertainty under the Trump administration and fear high valuations and an AI bubble. ? By the numbers: The S&P 500 is up about 17% year to date (charted above). The MSCI ex-US index, a basket of international stocks that excludes American companies, is up 29% in the same period. Go deeper: Why American stocks are out of favor on the global stage.

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Stock markets worldwide drop from records as worries about oil prices rattle the bond market

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market fell from its records Friday and joined a worldwide drop for stocks after higher oil prices sent a shiver through the bond market. Stocks that had been caught up in the euphoria around artificial-intelligence technology led the way lower.

https://apnews.com/article/stock-market-china-trump-iran-war-7a29502a1b592d3fbe0ede548421ba58?