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BANGKOK (AP) — Shares tumbled in Europe and Asia and U.S. futures tumbled Thursday following U.S. President Donald Trump ’s announcement of big increases in tariffs on imports of goods from around the world.
The double-digit tariff hikes sent shivers across world markets, as economists warned it raises the risk of recession.
The future for the S&P 500 dropped 3.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.6%, auguring potential losses when U.S. markets reopen on Thursday.
Germany’s DAX fell 1.7% to 21,998.48, while the CAC 40 in Paris lost 1.8% to 7,716.66. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 1.2% to 8,506.44.
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dipped 4% briefly, with automakers and banks taking big hits. It closed down 2.8% at 34,735.93.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s shares plunged 7.2% as the potential impact of the 24% tariffs on the export-dependent Japanese economy dashed expectations that the central bank will keep raising interest rates. Mizuho Financial Group skidded 8%.
Sony Corp.’s stocks sank 4.8% and Toyota Motor Corp. gave up 5.2%.
Japan’s yen gained , with the U.S. dollar falling to 147.42 Japanese yen from 149.28 yen. The euro rose to $1.0952 from $1.0855.
In South Korea, which was hit with a 25% tariff, the benchmark Kospi fell 1.1% to 2,486.70.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.7% to 22,813.22, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2% lower to 3,342.01.
The announcement came as a “major shock,” Yeap Junrong of IG said in a commentary. “China, in particular, was hit with an additional 34% tariff, bringing its total tariff burden to 64% when accounting for previous measures.”
However, losses were partly blunted by expectations of further economic stimulus from Beijing to offset the impact of the higher tariffs.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9% to 7,859.70.
Bangkok’s SET shed 1.1% after Thailand was assigned at 36% tariff on its exports to the U.S. That could cause Thai exports to fall by $7 billion to $8 billion, or about 2.3% of the total, Kasem Prunratanamala of CGS International said in a report.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks whipped through another dizzying day before Trump’s unveiling of his “Liberation Day” tariffs.
The S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 5,670.97 after careening between an earlier loss of 1.1% and a later gain of 1.1%. It’s had a pattern this week of opening with sharp drops only to finish the day higher.
The Dow industrials added 0.6% to 42,225.32, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9% to 17,601.05.
Financial markets around the world have broadly been shaky lately because of uncertainty about Trump’s trade war. He has said he wants tariffs to make the global system more fair and to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States from other countries. But tariffs also threaten to grind down growth for the U.S. and other economies, while worsening inflation when it may be stuck above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
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