World shares retreated Friday after President Donald Trump issued a new set of import duties that will apply to dozens of countries as of Aug. 7.
U.S. futures fell 0.9% after Trump announced tariff rates of up to 41% for imports from 68 countries and the European Union. He also said the tariff for products from Canada would rise to 35%, effective Friday.
Investors were looking ahead to U.S. payrolls data due out later in the day.
The order pushed back the tariff deadline earlier set for Aug. 1 and injected a new dose of uncertainty in an already unpredictable process that has been rattling markets since Trump returned to the White House in January.
This is not the end of the story, Stephen Brown of Capital Economics said in a commentary, adding that “this is unlikely to be the final word, as it still seems likely that some other countries will reach their own deals with the U.S., while there is a chance that the U.S. courts will eventually strike down these tariffs.
In early European trading, Germany’s DAX fell 1.7% to 23,651.26. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.7% to 9,063.50. In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 1.8% to 7,632.72.
The futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.9%.
Asian markets also declined, with South Korea’s Kospi tumbling 3.9% to 3,119.41 as Samsung Electronics
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.7 % to 40,799.60 as Japanese officials said they were watching closely for details and progress on implementing an agreement calling for 15% tariffs on exports to the U.S.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 1.1% to 24,507.81, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4% to 3,559.95. The status of China’s trade talks with the United States remains unclear, but are separate from Trump’s announcement late Thursday.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 shed 0.9% to 8,662, India’s BSE Sensex lost 0.4% to 80,837.19 and Taiwan’s TAIEX slid 0.5% to 23,434.38.
“Trump’s new tariff directive, signed behind closed doors just ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline, slaps a new floor under global trade costs: a 10% minimum rate for nearly all partners, with surcharges of 15% or higher for surplus nations,” with Canada drawing particular ire, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
“This wasn’t just an update — it was a structural rewrite. The average U.S. tariff jumps from 13.3% to 15.2%, a seismic shift from the 2.3% average before Trump retook office. This reshapes the cost calculus for everything from semiconductors to copper pipes,” he added.
Trading on Wall Street on Thursday brought more losses after an early big tech rally faded and a health care sector pullback led the market lower.
The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, its third straight decline. The benchmark index, which is just below the record high it set Monday, notched a 2.2% gain for the month of July and is up 7.8% so far this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7% and the Nasdaq composite closed less than 0.1% lower.
Roughly 70% of stocks in the S&P 500 lost ground, with health care companies accounting for the biggest drag on the market.
Health care stocks sank after the White House released letters asking big pharmaceutical companies to cut prices and make other changes in the next 60 days. Eli Lilly & Co. fell 2.6%, UnitedHealth Group slid 6.2% and Bristol-Myers Squibb dropped 5.8%.
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 52 cents to $68.72 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 47 cents to $71.23 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 150.46 Japanese yen from 150.77 yen. The euro slipped $1.1406 from $1.1417.
Source: AP
--Agencies
