The tariff-induced market mayhem isn’t over just yet.
US stock futures plunged Sunday evening after two sessions of sell-offs that wiped away over $5.4 trillion in market value. Stocks were set to open sharply lower Monday, putting the S&P 500 on the precipice of a bear market — a decline of 20% from its peak and an ominous sign for investors and perhaps the broader economy.
Dow futures were down 1,250 points, or 3.3%. S&P 500 futures fell 3.7%, while Nasdaq futures tumbled 4.6%. Asian markets tanked: Japan’s Nikkei fell 8% at the open.
The price of US oil fell more than 3%, sinking below $60 a barrel for the first time since April 2021. Oil prices have been in a freefall as investors fear tariffs could plunge the global economy into a recession that would sap demand for flights, shipments, transportation and travel — all activities that require fuel.
Bitcoin joined the declines, too — falling 5.6% to $78,736.93. Bitcoin had surged above $100,000 shortly after Trump was elected in the hopes that he’d help boost support for cryptocurrencies.
To be fair, tariffs can be implemented in a clean surgical way or start tiny and slowly ramp up so everybody can adjust and anticipate. Tariffs can be used like a feather to tickle the market. Trump is using the whole chicken coup and throwing them in other people’s faces.
Yeah but I mean he was pretty clear about what he was going to do and it was not some carefully calibrated and cautious system of tariffs.
Who are we being fair to? Trump was never going to do that.