Markets sink as Trump’s tariffs roil global trading system
President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plans battered global markets again on Monday after he said foreign governments would have to pay “a lot of money” to get the levies removed, while US stocks got a brief lift on hints of a pause, only to slide again.
Asian and European shares plunged and oil prices plummeted as investors feared the duties Trump likened to “medicine to fix something” at the weekend could lead to higher prices, weaker demand and potentially a global recession, Reuters reported.
US stocks initially tumbled as well, then rebounded after White House adviser Kevin Hassett said according to CNBC that Trump was considering a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries except China. Stocks then slid again after the broadcaster cited the White House as saying the pause comment was “fake news.”
The European Union, which has been divided on how strongly to punch back against Washington without risking more pain for its own companies and consumers, said it wanted to negotiate but was also ready to retaliate. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had offered Trump “zero-for-zero” tariffs on industrial goods.
Goldman Sachs raised the odds of a US recession to 45% in the next 12 months, joining other investment banks in revising their forecast. JPMorgan economists now estimate the tariffs pushing the US economy into a 0.3% contraction, down from an earlier estimate of 1.3% growth of gross domestic product.
Trump had shown no sign of relaxing his tariff policy earlier on Monday, blasting China for hitting back with retaliatory tariffs and repeating a call for the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. As Trump’s circle hit back at critics, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said talk of a recession was “silly.”
Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said separately that Trump had talked to world leaders all weekend and would listen to proposals for great deals.
The tariff announcement has met with bewildered condemnation from other leaders and triggered retaliatory levies from China, the world’s No.2 economy, which called Trump’s behavior “economic bullying.”
After stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong cratered on Monday, China’s sovereign fund stepped in to try to stabilize the market. Shares in Taiwan plummeted almost 10% - the biggest one-day percentage fall on record.
TSE slumps Nearly 1%
Tehran Stock Exchange also slumped nearly 1%. During Monday’s trading session in the capital market, over 20.336 billion shares were traded across 448,000 transactions. The stock index declined by 26,961 units, settling at 2,746,859 units.
According to the report, in Iran’s over-the-counter (OTC) markets, 9.069 billion securities were exchanged in 311,000 transactions. The OTC benchmark index (IFX) dropped 93 units, closing at 24,747 units.