Live: FTSE 100 in the red as US markets open lower
The UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 slumped more than four per cent today as the global stock market rout that began at the end of last week continued.
Fears that Donald Trump will sustain his trade war continued over the weekend after the US President made comments on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“We have massive Financial Deficits with China, the European Union, and many others. The only way this problem can be cured is with TARIFFS, which are now bringing Tens of Billions of Dollars into the U.S.A. They are already in effect, and a beautiful thing to behold,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Asked later about the market turbulence following the announcements, Trump told reporters that “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”
More than $5 trillion was wiped off the S&P 500 on Thursday and Friday last week, the worst performance since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The index slumped more than 10 per cent in two days after Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement.”
When US markets opened on Monday the The Dow Jones shed 1,200 points – a loss of more than three per cent.
The S&P 500 followed the Nasdaq Exchange into bear market territory as investors flocked to sell-off their stocks amidst the market madness.
The index was down 3.7 per cent, whilst the tech-heavy Nasdaq suffered a four per cent plunge.
