Stocks in financial markets that opened on April 7 continue to fall due to US President Donald Trump's "tariff war".
Points of attention
- US President Donald Trump's 'tariff war' has led to a massive $9.5 trillion loss in global markets over three days, triggering a sharp decline in financial markets worldwide.
- Defense stocks, Tesla Inc., and cryptocurrencies have suffered significant losses as a result of Trump's tariff policies, with defense stocks being hit the hardest despite being strong performers earlier.
- The imposition of large-scale tariffs by Trump has also impacted oil prices, pushing benchmark oil brands towards critical levels and affecting the Russian state budget as prices drop to unprofitable levels.
Global markets lost $9.5 trillion in three days of Trump tariffs
Stocks fell, bringing the three-day loss in global capital value to about $9.5 trillion. S&P 500 stock futures lost 3%, and the VIX index jumped above 50. The European Stoxx 600 fell 5%.
The European Stoxx 600 index fell to its lowest level since December 2023, while Germany's DAX briefly sank 10% before recovering. Defense stocks, which have been the best performers this year, were hit the hardest as investors hoarded cash by selling shares.
Tesla Inc. shares fell 10%. Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Citigroup Inc. shares fell about 5%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 10% in morning trading, while the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets fell 6% and 8% respectively.
In Taiwan, which produces the vast majority of the world's most advanced semiconductors, markets fell 9.8% after opening for the first time since Trump's announcement of tariffs — the biggest one-day drop in history.
Asian leaders have made a series of statements to the United States to try to avert a crisis for their economies, and US partners such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have promised to negotiate.
South Korea's government said on Sunday it would provide $2 billion in emergency aid to the domestic auto industry to cushion the blow from Trump's 25% tariffs on foreign-made cars that took effect last week.
Cryptocurrencies have lost almost all of their gains since Donald Trump won the November election, as the fallout from the US president's tariff policies triggered massive asset sales.
Bitcoin lost as much as 5.3% on Monday, falling to $74,600 for the first time since November 7.
This drop is due to Trump's imposition of large-scale tariffs, which have already led to the loss of trillions of dollars in global markets.
Prices for benchmark oil brands are approaching critical levels for Russia as US President Donald Trump imposed new import duties and China imposed tariffs on American goods in response.
Oil prices have reached their lowest level since the middle of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021. The fall in “black gold” is caused by a flurry of new tariffs by US President Donald Trump and increased production in the OPEC+ group.
Reuters reports that Brent crude futures fell $3.48, or 5%, to $66.66 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $3.55, or 5.3%, to $63.40. Both are on track for their biggest weekly percentage losses in six months.
The fall in world oil prices has pushed the price of Russia's most popular oil, Urals, down to $50 a barrel. This has put pressure on the Russian state budget as the Kremlin ramps up spending on the war in Ukraine. A price below $60 is unprofitable for the Russian budget.
The Paris stock exchange continued to fall. The CAC 40 recorded a 4.5% drop to 6,947.86 points (-6.19% at the opening). In Frankfurt, the Dax, which combines shares of the 40 largest German companies, fell 4.84% after falling more than 10% in the morning.
The London Stock Exchange lost 4.24%, the Milan Stock Exchange lost 5.35%, the Swiss Stock Exchange lost 5%. The Madrid Stock Exchange fell by 5.05%, and the Amsterdam Stock Exchange by 5.21%.
