U.S. President Donald Trump’s shake-up of the global trading system is hurting U.S. assets more than those in many of the big economies he has just slapped with additional tariffs.
U.S. equity index futures tumbled more than four per cent after Trump announced a sweeping series of tariffs following the market close on Wednesday, and a gauge of the U.S. dollar slumped. But the impact elsewhere was less extreme. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 1.9 per cent, while the euro was up 2.2 per cent against the U.S. dollar, hitting its highest level since October. A broad gauge of Asian stocks fell as much as 1.7 per cent.
The widespread selloff in global markets makes clear that investors don’t expect any winners from the latest — and by the far the largest — salvo in a growing trade war. But they also suggest the U.S. itself might be one of the biggest victims of Trump’s protectionist policies.
“Global asset allocators will be looking at the U.S. in a very different way,” Neil Birrell, chief investment officer at Premier Miton Investors, said by phone. “Would international investors sell the U.S. as a result of this and start moving money? Yes, they probably will.”
Overall, the U.S. dollar headed for its worst day in over two years, as traders prepared for the economic impact. The Japanese yen gained 1.9 per cent against the greenback, and Treasury 10-year yields hit their lowest level since October, further weighing on the greenback.
“The aggravation of U.S. growth concerns on the tariff news and related further falls in U.S. stocks has meant that the dollar isn’t enjoying its traditional safe-haven, reserve currency status support,” said Ray Attrill, head of foreign-exchange strategy at National Australia Bank Ltd.
The tariff announcement has put more pressure on a U.S. stock market that had already floundered this year, as investors braced for Trump’s policies to stir up inflation and raise the odds of a recession in the world’s largest economy. The S&P 500 was down 3.6 per cent this year before the tariff announcement, while the Nasdaq 100 had shed about seven per cent. The Magnificent Seven tech stocks have also tumbled. By contrast, Germany’s DAX is up 10 per cent in 2025.
“We aren’t buying the dip in the U.S.,” said Aneeka Gupta, head of macroeconomic research at Wisdom Tree UK Ltd. “Investors are turning toward income as a source of refuge in these times of uncertainty as they wait and watch how countries essentially come back with their countermeasures.”
Richard Henderson and Sagarika Jaisinghani, Bloomberg News
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