Wall Street faces another brutal beating on Friday as US stock futures plunged after China unveiled stiff retaliatory taxes in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs – threatening to spur a heated global trade war.
The S&P 500 futures fell 3.4% as major stock indexes continued to decline a day after suffering their worst drop since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.2%, while the Nasdaq sank 3.8%.
Global stock markets also continued on a descent as investors fear that Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan – a 10% baseline tax and much harsher rates for many nations – could stoke inflation and even a recession.
China’s finance ministry on Friday said it will impose a 34% levy on all US imports starting on April 10, the day after Trump’s reciprocal tariff totaling 54% goes into effect
The White House had already hit Chinese exports with a 20% levy earlier this year before Trump announced he was hiking that duty by 34% on Wednesday.
The 10% tax is set to take effect after midnight on Saturday, while higher rates – including a 20% tariff on the 27-nation European Union, 24% on Japan and 17% on Israel – won’t take hold until April 9, which Trump has signaled gives countries time to come to the negotiating table.
However, the potential for rates to be negotiated downward didn’t do enough to quell markets.
Analysts warned that the prolonged uncertainty over final tariff rates could continue to slam markets.
“Magnificent 7” tech stocks – including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon and Tesla – endured further losses on Friday.
Shares in Amazon and Tesla led the slump, falling 6.1% and 5.5% by about 8 a.m. ET, respectively.
