FTSE 100 sinks as S&P 500 and Dow Jones plummet on open
The pain continued for global markets on Friday, as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones joined the FTSE 100 in the red.
The FTSE 100’s downturn deepened following China’s announcement of 34 per cent retaliatory tariffs against the US. The index was down over four per cent in the afternoon.
In New York, the Dow shed 900 points on open as it tumbled over 2.5 per cent. The S&P made losses of nearly three per cent.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Exchange sunk over three per cent during early trading.
Apple, which suffered its worst drop since the pandemic era on Monday, fell by three per cent on open.
Tesla was down nearly five per cent. This took the stock’s losses so far this year over 30 per cent.
On the Dow, Goldman Sachs plunged over six per cent. JP Morgan Chase was not far behind at over five per cent.
As markets opened, Trump published a series of posts on his TruthSocial account slamming China for hitting back with levies of their own.
The President posted: “China played it wrong, they panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do!”
Trump: ‘Markets are going to boom’
This followed Trump stating on Thursday the US’ tariff policy was going “very well.”
“The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom,” Trump said as he departed the White House yesterday.
Elsewhere, woes for European markets continued.
Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 each sunk nearly four per cent at midday. Amsterdam’s AEX was down by over three per cent.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown: “Another jolt of fear has shot through markets, as China’s threat of retaliation has materialised.
“The big concern is that this a sign of a sharp escalation of the tariff war, which will have major implications for the global economy. The stock shock has shown up in even sharper losses with European indices sinking deeper into the red.”
She added: “These kinds of market moves can feel incredibly uncomfortable, but anyone who has lived through any market turmoil in the past knows how important it is to focus on your long-term investment horizons and ride out short-term storms.”
