Markets react to Trump tariffs- April 2025

Stock exchange traders on edge as Trump tariffs impact market

This has been the face of many traders over the past couple of days on Wall Street, and across the world. On April 2, 2025, President Trump unveiled his highly anticipated reciprocal tariffs on foreign imports, with all nations facing a minimum 10% tariffs on all goods they export to the US. Some countries, such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Canada, Mexico, and Cambodia have faced higher tariffs. For example, a 46% tariff was placed on Vietnamese imports. 

President Trump deemed April 2nd, "Liberation Day," claiming that the US had been ripped off by other nations through trade for decades, and that the US was finally "free" from trade imbalances and from getting "cheated" by other nations. However, global markets reaction to the tariffs was not one of excitement and promise, but of fear and distress. 

DOW, NASDAQ, S&P futures: See how pre-market trading started

From April 3rd to April 4th, global markets saw a sharp decline, with all major US indexes in correction territory, especially the Russell 2000 Index in a bear market, as well as both major European and Asian indexes in correction territory as well, such as the STOXX 600 and the Nikkei indexes. These negative trends continued into the week of April 7th, with the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong seeing its worst single-day drop since 1997, as well as the Nikkei seeing a decline, north of 6.50%. 

Hang Seng Index plummets 13% in worst rout in 3 decades amid all-out global tariff war | South China Morning Post

However, signs of relief for markets, based on the US market's activity on April 7th. Through a volatile day of trading, the DJIA and the S&P 500 declined less than 1%, with the NASDAQ finishing in the green. Also, futures projected the start of a rebound in US markets going into April 8th, mixed with the Nikkei's 6% jump on April 8th, markets are looking to recover and bounce back from the staggering losses over the past couple of trading days. 

It may be a good time for investors to look at less risky ways to stay in the stock market

It will be interesting to see in the coming days what becomes of world markets, especially with President Trump and China looking to "fight to the death" regarding the trade war and tariffs. Hopefully, negotiates occur between the US and other nations, adding to the negotiations that have already been initiated, and the global markets make a sharp recovery in the coming days.

Comments

  1. Jim D.April 15, 2025 at 10:05 AM

    The market volatility due to the uncertainty from tariffs continues to a material concern of the global markets. While the market seems to have momentarily stabilized, we seem to be reacting and possibly overreacting to the various policy decisions coming out of Washington. If you're a long-term bull, one could argue this is a potential buying opportunity.

    ReplyDelete
  2. IreneApril 18, 2025 at 10:51 AM

    Very informative.

    ReplyDelete

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