Turmoil has engulfed the republic. Yesterday, President Trump announced worldwide tariffs on imports, described as reciprocal but in fact based on the balance of trade with each territory. The peculiar formula and other oddities, such as tariffs on trade from uninhabited islands, compounded the inevitable: a bad day at the stock market.
At the time of writing, the S&P 500 index is down 3.8% and the Nasdaq almost 5%, dragged down by tech giant Apple, down 8%. The iPhone maker is one of the companies most exposed to tariff risk, given China is a key manufacturing hub. In fact, the falls have been heaviest in companies whose supply chains are most dependent on overseas manufacturing – like Apple but also Amazon (7% down) and Nike (11%).
America's business class bent the knee hoping to stop this sort of thing. Many are even paying bribes. But that's not how it works with Trump.
Reacting to sharp drops in US stocks, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says: "To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump."
Europe is faring a little better. The FTSE 100 index was down 1.6% in London, with France's CAC 40 down 3.3% and Germany's DAX posting a 3.1% loss on Thursday.
