Global Markets Fell on Worse-Than-Expected U.S. Tariffs
By Dow Jones Newswires StaffU.S. stock futures and global equities markets tumbled along with the dollar and Treasury yields following the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs, which were harsher than expected.S&P 500 stock futures were last down around 3% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off 2.2% premarket.Stock markets across Asia, the target of some of President Trump's highest tariffs, fell. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 2.8% with chip makers and financials leading the falls. Chinese shares ended lower, though perhaps not as low as some had expected, weighed by home-appliances, consumer-products and hardware stocks. South Korea's benchmark Kospi fell 0.8% to close at 2486.70, paring some of its early losses.At the open in Europe, the Stoxx 600 index fell 1.3% with bigger falls in sub-indexes for tech, banks and industrial goods. Sporting goods, luxury and autos were all hit. On the upside, Novartis shares rose 1.5% and GSK shares were up 1.15% after medicines got an exemption from the tariffs.At the open, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 1.3% after the country got the lowest-tier 10% tariff. France's CAC 40 fell 2.2% and Germany's DAX fell 2.4%.The dollar fell to a near six-month low. The tariff outcome "was worse than expected and it raises the risk for a U.S. recession," Danske Bank analyst Stefan Mellin said in a note. The DXY dollar index fell to a low of 102.728 against a basket of major currencies.The Canadian dollar rose to a five-week high against the U.S. dollar and the Mexican peso hit a one-week high after the two countries were exempt from further tariffs. Trump had previously announced a 25% levy on a large share of Canada and Mexico imports.U.S. Treasurys rallied. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped 15 basis points to 4.047%.In commodities, gold futures hit a new record high earlier in the session of $3,196.60 a troy ounce. Oil headed the other way as global demand fears mounted; in early European trade, Brent crude dropped 3.2% to $72.53 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was down 3.4% at $69.24 a barrel.Notably, Tesla shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading, to $260.10.Write to Barcelona Editors at [email protected]