Shockwaves from Trump's tariffs: £1.4 trillion wiped off markets
At the beginning of Thursday's session, approximately £1.4 trillion vanished from Wall Street. As reported by BBC, the sharp declines in global markets were a response to the introduction of reciprocal tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Thursday's session on Wall Street commenced with sharp declines. BBC, states that the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 2.7%, the S&P 500 decreased by 3.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 4.2%.
Shares were being offloaded primarily within retail networks and corporations that had previously benefitted significantly from globalisation. Apple shares fell by 8%, Tesla by 4%, Nike by 12%, and Dollar Tree by 11% - as reported in the daily.
Impact on currencies and commodities
The dollar lost value against the world's major currencies. "In the afternoon, 1 euro was valued at $1.106. The yield on ten-year U.S. bonds fell to 4.05%. The price of gold reached a record close to £2,610, only to later decrease to around £2,560. (...) WTI crude oil, on the other hand, dropped by nearly 6%, with its price falling below £56 per barrel," reports BBC.
The sell-off was triggered by the tariffs announced by Donald Trump after the markets closed on Wednesday on goods from all countries, ranging from a minimum of 10% to 49%.
For the U.S.'s largest trading partners, such as the EU and China, the rates are to be 20%, and for China specifically, 34%. High tariffs are also to apply to products from Asian countries like South Korea, Japan, India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.
