How global market chaos took hold – from Asia, across Europe and into the US
In what was nothing short of a horror show; global markets endured a volatile day of trading on Monday as Trump doubled down on his tariff agenda.
The session began in the Asia-Pacific where, before the UK had even woken up, stock markets plummeted on a scale not seen in decades.
In his ‘Liberation Day’ speech, Trump said tariffs would target the “worst offenders” and countries across Asia were slapped with some of the steepest levies.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 7.83 per cent and the Shanghai composite sunk 7.34 per cent. In some Asian exchanges, trading was suspended as the losses mounted.
As investor focus shifted West, it was clear that European markets were going to be in for a tough day.
The FTSE 100 tumbled 3.1 per cent on the open.
London’s losses accelerated to a 6.1 per cent slump, outpacing drops in the previous week.
This extended across Europe as Germany’s Dax sunk nearly ten per cent with other European markets sinking into the red.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown said: “Trump has dashed hopes for an easing of policy by calling tariffs ‘medicine’ and investors are absorbing the implications of this bitter pill for the global economy.”
Heading into yesterday afternoon, Europe was swallowed up by the red as Wall Street opened amid a global financial storm.
The Dow Jones shed 1,200 points, marking a loss of over three per cent.
The S&P 500 followed the Nasdaq Exchange into bear territory, as investors hurried to sell-off their stocks amidst the market madness.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 made minor reversals to losses, but was still caught in a four per cent slump.
Frantic trading, rumours and a fresh sell-off
Amid frantic US trading, reports emerged of a possible 90-day pause on the tariffs, triggering huge swings across markets.
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt quickly squashed investors’ hopes, branding the reports “fake news”.
The Dow had shot briefly into the green amidst the rumours, but tumbled to a loss of 629 points following the White House’s bitter clarification.
Back in London, the FTSE 100 closed on a 4.38 per cent slump with just five firms managing to scrape into the green.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said the narrowing losses as the trading day continued “offer a glimmer of hope that we might be near the bottom of the sell-off, although it’s impossible to say with any certainty.”
After a turbulent session, Wall Street reversed some of the losses made as markets opened but still closed on a lull.
The S&P and Dow were down 0.2 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively. The Nasdaq performed better to close flat after plunging at the open.