Wall Street has braced for massive losses at the start of the week over Trump’s tariffs on exports to the United States, as oil prices plummeted even with countries seeking compromise.
Trump remained defiant since unleashing the blitz of tariffs on stunned nations around the world on Wednesday, insisting that his policies “will never change” even as markets went into a tailspin.
Meanwhile, investors had been anticipating another week of turbulence as global trading partners react to the harsher-than-expected tariffs. US S&P 500 E-minis stock futures were last down 4 percent. Dow E-minis were down 3.8 percent, while Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 4.6 percent at the open on Sunday.
Nikkei futures slid almost 4 percent to 31,080, pointing to a drop of up to 3,000 points for the cash index that closed at 33,780 on Friday.
“The bull market is dead,” Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial, said ahead of futures opening. “We might see some gains in the next few days, but for now, they’re not going to be sustainable.”
The timing of the tariffs news, which coincided with the beginning of the first-quarter earnings season, is contributing to the gloomy outlook, Malek said.
Trump said on Sunday he can’t say what happens to markets, adding that he will speak with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on levies during the latter’s visit to Washington.
Keir Starmer, Britain’s Prime Minister warned that “the world as we knew it has gone,” saying the status quo would increasingly hinge on “deals and alliances.”
