Stocks Extend Global Rout After Trump's Shock Tariff Blitz

The trade war escalated, recession fears rise and consequently oil demand growth is to take a sizeable hit,

said Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM

The opening salvo Wednesday afternoon was too devastating, puerile and economically illiterate to move past, and the economic downturn that was already underway will now evolve into something worse,

equities analyst Adam Crisafulli, head of Vital Knowledge, said in a note to investors

The tariff developments will remain the dominant driver for financial markets over the near-term,

John Canavan, lead U.S. analyst at Oxford Economics, said in a report

This trade war is like nothing we've seen for years, perhaps decades,

Beauchamp added

Another jolt of fear has shot through markets as China's threat of retaliation has materialised,

said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown

Sentiment is so fragile right now,

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, told AFP

The second is that the looming global trade war is proving the greater leveller for rate spreads,

he said, referring to past expectations of a slower pace of rate cuts in Britain

The first is that the euro has better liquidity than sterling and will benefit more as investors leave the dollar,

he said

During a wave of uncertainty, one thing is evident—Trump’s policies and pronouncements have produced a negative sentiment shift toward the US among international travelers. The correlating decline in international travel to the US is expected to be strongest in 2025, with persisting degrees of impact throughout the remainder of Trump’s second term,

explained a report - highlighting an expected fall of 9.4 per cent in international visitors to the States

Investors looking to buy on the dip were spoiled for choice given the sharp declines seen on the market this week. It’s now a question of when investors feel brave enough to go shopping. Today’s extended sell-off implies they are still too nervous to take the plunge,

noted Russ Mould of AJ Bell

As indices remained rooted in the bottom and the US dollar suffered a broad-based slump, it is clear that market sentiment is fragile, and this might not be the end of the selling. Even gold, often a safe haven, could not escape the selling pressure, reinforcing fears that rising tariffs could spell trouble across asset classes. Indeed, crude oil was even lower,

he said

We see 5,300 as the near-term target for the S&P 500, but if tariff uncertainty persists or negotiations with trading partners don't go well, risks of downside through 5,000 become real,

strategists at UBS Global Research noted

We are working on a package of responses that can go well beyond tariffs, in order, once again, to bring the U.S. to the negotiating table and reach a fair agreement,

Lombard said in an interview with broadcaster BFM TV

James P. Lucierstaff director for the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, author

The tariff plan does not appear to be well thought-out. Trade negotiations are a highly technical discipline, and in our view these proposals do not offer a serious basis for negotiations with any country,

said James Lucier, founding partner at Capital Alpha

Emmanuel Macronpresident

Investments to come or investments announced in recent weeks should be suspended until things are clarified with the United States,

Macron said during a meeting with French industry representatives

The global economy is fundamentally different today than it was yesterday,

he said as he announced several countermeasures

The EU will respond in a calm, carefully phased, and above all, unified way, as we calibrate our response,

he said on social media

People yell or scream in shock, or horror sometimes, [and] that’s probably my favorite because it’s funny to me because it’s a dramatic response,

the 34-year-old Californian said

I was a character at a theme park,

Rhian Teasdale reveals, somewhat reluctantly

Mark Warnersenator

At a time when the United States is facing unprecedented cyber threats … how does firing him make Americans any safer?”

Mark Warner, vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee, asked