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(WASHINGTON) — After days of market tumult, President Donald Trump on Wednesday makes good on his long-sought goal of imposing aggressive tariffs against dozens of U.S. trading partners.

But his gamble comes with major political risks for his legacy amid mounting concerns from Republicans and business leaders that’s he’s making a mistake by going too far in exacting economic retaliation.

Chief among his new trade moves is a hefty 104% tariff rate on China, which was set to go into effect with the rest at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday.

Trump has painted what he calls “reciprocal” tariffs as retribution for a grievance he’s held for “35 years” — that the U.S. is being “ripped off” by trade imbalances.

“Nobody but me would do this,” he said in the Oval Office on Monday. “You know it would be nice to serve a nice, easy term. But we have an opportunity to change the fabric of our country. We have an opportunity to reset the table on trade.”

On Tuesday night, on the eve of realizing what he’s said he considers one of his crowning political achievements, he boasted in freewheeling remarks to congressional Republicans, “I know what the hell I’m doing. I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass. They are. They are dying to make a deal.”

“Many countries have ripped us off left and right. But now it’s our turn to do the ripping,” he continued.

By doing so, he’s moving full steam ahead on a campaign promise that turned real on April 2 in a flashy event in the White House Rose Garden — a move prompting economic and political backlash.

U.S. markets experienced their worst week since the coronavirus pandemic, with trillions lost in retirement and college savings accounts in just 48 hours after Trump’s tariff announcement. Looking ahead at potential future fallout, economists increased their odds of a recession this year.

Stocks rallied early Tuesday amid optimism on the administration beginning negotiations with various countries, but turned back into red territory before day’s end as the world braced for the additional Trump tariffs soon being put in place.

China — the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S. — says it’s ready to “fight to the end” on Trump’s tariffs.

Up on Capitol Hill, some Republicans started to express increasing anxiety about the president’s approach.

“Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, pointedly asked U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as he testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Trump’s agenda.

Tillis and other GOP members of the panel joined Democrats in questioning why the administration’s refused to consider exemptions on certain goods critical to American industries, such as farming and garment manufacturing.

“I’m somewhat disappointed to hear that exclusions of some of these things are being ruled out at this point in time,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Greer.

Greer defended Trump’s policies as he noticeably sidestepped questions from Democrats on how much “short-term pain” American consumers can expect to face from higher prices and inflation.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published Tuesday found that a majority (57%) of American adults oppose Trump’s new tariffs.

“These measures are aimed squarely at achieving reciprocity and reducing our massive trade deficit to restore production in the United States,” Greer told lawmakers. Greer said Trump was “fixed in his purpose” on the issue when asked if he’d reverse course if inflation rose as a result.

The White House has said nearly 70 countries have reached out to Trump officials to talk about tariffs.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce on Tuesday morning that agreements with some big trading partners could happen “very quickly.”

But at the podium later that afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide any timeline for when Trump would like to see deals completed, only that he is moving at “Trump speed.”

“The president likes to get things done, but he’s very much focused on ensuring that these deals are good for the American worker, they are good for American manufacturing, and again, that they tackle these crippling deficits with these countries,” Leavitt said, adding that these will be “tailor-made” agreements for each nation rather than wholesale changes.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted a drop in oil prices and borrowing costs as a sign that sweeping new tariffs bode well for the U.S. economy.

Experts who spoke to ABC News largely rejected the notion, saying the trends indicate expectations of an economic slowdown that would diminish energy demand and send money flooding into bonds as safe-haven investments.

A drop in oil prices and borrowing expenses could offset some of the damage caused by a potential downturn, some experts noted, but such relief is unlikely to offset acute economic pain.

“The reason those prices have fallen is not positive,” Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at Morningstar Investment Management, told ABC News. “Oil prices and Treasury yields fell because there are concerns about economic growth going forward.”

Oil prices plummeted about 15% last week as Trump’s tariff announcement roiled global markets and triggered warnings about a possible recession.

Meanwhile, 10-year Treasury yields last week fell below 4% for the first time in nearly six months. The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, or the amount paid to a bondholder annually, helps set interest rates for just about any loan, including credit cards and mortgages.

“Oil prices are down, interest rates are down,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday morning outlining the benefits of his tariff policy.

He repeated the sentiment hours later, boasting of low borrowing costs and predicting the price of a gallon of gasoline would fall to $2.50. The current national average price of a gallon gas is $3.25, according to AAA.

“We have everything down at levels that nobody ever thought possible,” Trump said.

The drop in oil prices and borrowing costs will likely offer some near-term improvements for U.S. consumers, including lower gas prices, experts said.

“Motorists can expect gas prices to begin falling nearly coast-to-coast, with oil now at its lowest level since the early days of the pandemic in 2021,” Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News in a statement.

In the case of oil, prices are dropping as forecasters increase the odds of a possible U.S. recession, which would reduce economic activity and slash demand for oil. If appetite for oil falls, the price will too.

“In addition to falling oil prices, the stock market has dropped sharply, and the risk of a recession has increased – raising the likelihood of reduced global energy and oil demand, which is sending prices lower,” de Haan said.

The recent decline in Treasury yields owes to hotter demand rather than a cooling off, experts said.

The price of a bond moves in the opposite direction as its yield, or the amount of interest accrued by a bondholder. In other words, when bond yields go down, bond prices go up. The decline in yields over recent days has resulted from a surge in demand as investors flee stocks and seek out safe-haven assets.

“Risky assets sold off and safe investments like Treasury bonds saw prices increase as Treasury yields fell,” Pappalardo said.

The Trump administration has largely declined to rule out the possibility of a recession. Speaking at the White House last month, Trump said a “little disturbance” may prove necessary to rejuvenate domestic production and reestablish well-paying manufacturing jobs.

On Tuesday, oil prices and Treasury yields ticked up slightly as the Trump administration signaled negotiations with some countries targeted by tariffs.

“Any good news of decreasing the tariffs is going to cause oil and yields to rally,” Derek Horstmeyer, a finance professor at George Mason University’s Costello College of Business, told ABC News. “It improves the economic picture.”

Even after the increases on Tuesday, oil prices and Treasury yields remained well below levels seen last week.

Horstmeyer said the benefits of lower oil prices and borrowing costs may offer consumers a false sense of reassurance.

“Falling oil prices always make people feel good,” Horstmeyer added. “They’re usually seen as bad forward indicators, so it portends what’s to come.”

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(NEW YORK) — U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday in a burst of investor optimism as the Trump administration signaled plans to negotiate with some countries targeted by sweeping new tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,385 points, or 3.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 3.7%. The S&P 500 was up 3.3%.

The move followed an upswing in markets worldwide.

Asian markets opened in positive territory after posting significant losses on Monday driven by President Donald Trump’s global tariffs campaign,

Japan’s Nikkei index closed just over 6% up on Tuesday, recovering some of almost 8% of losses posted on Monday.

South Korea’s KOSPI index rose by 0.3%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 grew by 2.2% and India’s NIFTY 50 index climbed almost 2%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index — which on Monday posted its worst day since 1997 losing 13% — rebounded with a 1% rise on Tuesday. Shanghai’s Composite Index grew 1.4%.

European markets also edged into the green after a tumultuous start to the week. The British FTSE 100 picked up 1.3% shortly after opening, Germany’s DAX gained 0.9% and France’s CAC 40 rose 1.3%.

Monday’s rollercoaster trading saw the Dow post its largest intraday point swing ever — falling more than 1,700 points during its Monday session low, then swinging up 2,595 points from the low.

The Dow dropped 349 points, or 0.91%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ticked up 0.1%. The S&P 500 closed down 0.23%. Its 8.5% high/low spread has only happened 20 other times since 1962, according to S&P Global.

The S&P 500 briefly entered bear market territory during the session but was last off nearly 18% from its recent high.

ABC News’ Max Zahn and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is pulling back its enforcement of crypto regulations, disbanding a unit dedicated to cryptocurrency enforcement

The Justice Department instructed federal prosecutors to “no longer target virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and offline wallets for the acts of their end users or unwitting violations of regulations,” according to a memo from the U.S. deputy attorney general reviewed by ABC News.

“The Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator,” the memo said. “The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) shall be disbanded effective immediately.”

The shift is consistent with President Donald Trump’s other pro-crypto policies, including directives to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to ease up on crypto regulation and the creation of a digital assets reserve.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s memo attacked the Biden administration, which he said, “used the Justice Department to pursue a reckless strategy of regulation by prosecution, which was ill conceived and poorly executed.”

Blanche said the Trump administration’s prosecutions and investigations involving the crypto industry would focus on “individuals who victimize digital asset investors, or those who use digital assets in furtherance of criminal offenses such as terrorism, narcotics and human trafficking, organized crime, hacking, and cartel and gang financing.”

The memo suggests the Justice Department would no longer be interested in some of the biggest crypto cases brought under the prior administration, including Tornado Cash, which allegedly laundered more than $1 billion, and the hacker Avraham Eisenberg, who was convicted in April 2024 of a $110 million market-manipulation case. Both prosecutions were brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Blanche also appeared to criticize how the office approached the prosecution of Sam Bankman-Fried, who the prior administration said orchestrated “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”

Blanche said some investor victims have only been able to recover the value of their digital assets at the time the fraud was perpetrated.

“The effect: digital asset investors’ losses may be calculated at a value when the digital asset market was at a lower point, and victims who bore the risk of loss are unable to benefit from corresponding gains that occurred during or after the period in which they were victimized and would otherwise have possessed the asset,” the memo said, adopting an argument made by Bankman-Fried that investors he defrauded have been made whole. Blanche instructed prosecutors to change their approach.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment.

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(SEOUL) — Asian markets opened up on Tuesday after posting significant losses on Monday driven by President Donald Trump’s global tariffs campaign, with U.S. futures also rising slightly after a day of turmoil on Wall Street.

As of early Tuesday morning, Dow Jones futures were up almost 2%, S&P 500 futures were up more than 1.5% and Nasdaq futures were up 1.3%.

Japan’s Nikkei index closed just over 6% up on Tuesday, recovering some of almost 8% of losses posted on Monday.

South Korea’s KOSPI index rose by 0.3%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 grew by 2.2% and India’s NIFTY 50 index climbed almost 2%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index — which on Monday posted its worst day since 1997 losing 13% — rebounded with a 1% rise on Tuesday. Shanghai’s Composite Index grew 1.4%.

European markets also edged into the green after a tumultuous start to the week. The British FTSE 100 picked up 1.3% shortly after opening, Germany’s DAX gained 0.9% and France’s CAC 40 rose 1.3%.

Monday’s rollercoaster trading saw the Dow post its largest intraday point swing ever — falling more than 1,700 points during its Monday session low, then swinging up 2,595 points from the low.

The Dow dropped 349 points, or 0.91%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ticked up 0.1%. The S&P 500 closed down 0.23%. Its 8.5% high/low spread has only happened 20 other times since 1962, according to S&P Global.

The S&P 500 briefly entered bear market territory during the session but was last off nearly 18% from its recent high.

ABC News’ Max Zahn and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — As the world reels from tariffs instituted by the Trump administration, stock markets are widely in decline.

On Friday, U.S. stock saw the worst decline since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. But the declines last week did not rank among the worst crashes in the history of the U.S. stock markets.

President Donald Trump said Sunday, “I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something and we have such a horrible — we have been treated so badly by other countries because we had stupid leadership that allowed this to happen.”

Here are the worst declines in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average by percentage:

5.) March 12, 2020 (-2,352.60, -9.99%)

Four days before the worst COVID-related drop in stocks, the Dow slid 9.99%. Blue chip stocks also dropped 7.79% — the 14th-worst all-time — on March 9, the first day of the COVID-induced drops.

4.) Oct. 29, 1929 (-30.57, -11.73%)

The stock market crash of October 1929 signaled the end of the “Roaring Twenties” and the beginning of the Great Depression. This was the second day of the big drop, known as “Black Tuesday,” which began one day earlier and occupies the next spot on this list.

3.) Oct. 28, 1929 (-38.33, -12.82%)

The first Black Monday in the history of the Dow Jones, investors’ fortunes were wiped out in a major wake-up call for people who thought the the good times would last forever.

2.) March 16, 2020 (-2,997.10, -12.93%)

Many Americans can recall the crash that happened as the world was shutting down over the COVID-19 pandemic. The worldwide shutdowns and disruptions to the global supply chain caused investors to bail.

1.) Oct. 19, 1987 (-508, -22.61%)

Black Monday, or the first contemporary global financial crisis according to the Federal Reserve, followed seven months of explosive growth on Wall Street. Stocks had climbed 44% over those months, according to the Fed, before the U.S. announced a larger-than-expected trade deficit. After moderate losses in the week before, the global markets tanked and Monday opened to panic from U.S. investors as well.

Note: The Dow Jones officially considers Dec. 12, 1914, the worst day in trading history, but economists agree 1987’s Black Monday was the worst. The stock market closed in July 1914 due to the start of World War I, and wouldn’t open again until Dec. 12, 1914. Even then, it was on a limited basis, with the official return to full trading on April 1, 1915. Technically, the Dow actually went up on Dec. 12, 1914, but a retroactive correction makes it look like it went down.

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(NEW YORK) — U.S. stocks tumbled at opening on Monday as President Donald Trump’s tariffs stoked fears of a wider global trade war and Wall Street firms sounded alarms about a possible recession. The sell-off hit U.S. firms hours after a historic rout in foreign markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,600 points, or 4.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 5%.

The S&P 500 plunged 4.6%, tipping the index into bear market territory, a term used to designate a 20% drop below a previous peak.

The market downturn stretches back to Trump’s announcement of far-reaching tariffs last week. The Dow suffered its worst week since 2020, and the Nasdaq ended last week in a bear market.

Hong Kong leads Asian slide

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 9% shortly after the market opened on Monday, the steep decline triggering a circuit breaker that temporarily halted trading. Japan’s broader TOPIX index sank 8%.

In Taiwan, the Taiex lost 9.7%, while in Singapore the STI fell more than 8%.

South Korea’s KOSPI index fell more than 5.5% in Monday trading, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 sliding more than 6% before recovering slightly.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 13.22% — its worst one-day performance since 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis — with Chinese tech stocks like Alibaba and Baidu among the big losers.

On the mainland — where there are fewer international investors — the Shanghai Composite Index dropped more than 7%, despite being buoyed by state-owned investors known as the “National Team.”

India’s stock markets also struggled. The BSE’s Sensex dropped 5.19% while the broader Nifty tumbled 5%.

Asian markets collectively posted their worst day trading session since 2008.

Europe joins rout

European indexes followed suit on Monday morning.

The British FTSE 100 index fell 6% upon opening, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 index dropped more than 6%.

Germany’s DAX index fell 10%, France’s CAC lost 6.6% and Italy’s FTSE MIB slid 5.7%.

US braced for more losses

Investors expected continued market turmoil on Monday in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announced last week.

Speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump addressed the recent market turbulence and subsequent fears of an imminent recession.

“Now what’s going to happen with the market? I can’t tell you, but I can tell you, our country has gotten a lot stronger, and eventually it’ll be a country like no other, it’ll be the most dominant country economically in the world,” Trump said.

“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something and we have such a horrible — we have been treated so badly by other countries because we had stupid leadership that allowed this to happen,” the president added.

U.S. markets closed significantly down on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 2,230 points, or 5.5%, while the S&P 500 plunged 6%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 5.8%. The decline put the Nasdaq into bear market territory, meaning the index has fallen more than 20% from its recent peak.

The trading session on Friday marked the worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020. The second-worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020 happened on Thursday, a day earlier.

ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Karson Yiu, Zunaira Zaki, Max Zahn and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
 

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(HONG KONG) — Key global stock markets tumbled upon opening on Monday as the world’s reaction to President Donald Trump’s tariffs campaign continued — and as U.S. futures signaled more turmoil for American markets.

In the U.S., Dow Jones futures were down about 1,200 points or 3.33% on Monday morning. S&P 500 and NASDAQ futures were down about 3.5%. A drop of 7% on the S&P 500 before 3:35pm ET will trigger a market-wide circuit breaker that will halt trading for 15 minutes.

Hong Kong leads Asian slide

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 9% shortly after the market opened on Monday, the steep decline triggering a circuit breaker that temporarily halted trading. Japan’s broader TOPIX index sank 8%.

In Taiwan, the Taiex lost 9.7%, while in Singapore the STI fell more than 8%.

South Korea’s KOSPI index fell more than 5.5% in Monday trading, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 sliding more than 6% before recovering slightly.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 13.22% — its worst one-day performance since 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis — with Chinese tech stocks like Alibaba and Baidu among the big losers.

On the mainland — where there are fewer international investors — the Shanghai Composite Index dropped more than 7%, despite being buoyed by state-owned investors known as the “National Team.”

India’s stock markets also struggled. The BSE’s Sensex dropped 5.19% while the broader Nifty tumbled 5%.

Asian markets collectively posted their worst day trading session since 2008.

Europe joins rout

European indexes followed suit on Monday morning.

The British FTSE 100 index fell 6% upon opening, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 index dropped more than 6%.

Germany’s DAX index fell 10%, France’s CAC lost 6.6% and Italy’s FTSE MIB slid 5.7%.

US braced for more losses

Investors are bracing for continued market turmoil on Monday in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announced last week.

Speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump addressed the recent market turbulence and subsequent fears of an imminent recession.

“Now what’s going to happen with the market? I can’t tell you, but I can tell you, our country has gotten a lot stronger, and eventually it’ll be a country like no other, it’ll be the most dominant country economically in the world,” Trump said.

“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something and we have such a horrible — we have been treated so badly by other countries because we had stupid leadership that allowed this to happen,” the president added.

U.S. markets closed significantly down on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 2,230 points, or 5.5%, while the S&P 500 plunged 6%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 5.8%. The decline put the Nasdaq into bear market territory, meaning the index has fallen more than 20% from its recent peak.

The trading session on Friday marked the worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020. The second-worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020 happened on Thursday, a day earlier.

ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Karson Yiu, Zunaira Zaki, Max Zahn and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — U.S. consumers are going on a tariff-induced shopping spree. From furniture, to appliances, to alcohol, Americans are rushing to buy before President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs are felt at the checkout counter.

Economists say the tariffs are expected to increase prices for everyday items and many are now raising the likelihood that the economy will fall into a recession.

Auto sales surged 11.2% in March as car buyers flocked to dealerships to beat the 25% tariffs on all imported cars, which went into effect April 3.

Once Noel Peguero heard about the wider tariff announcements, he said he hit the stores. The 50-year old school worker from Queens, New York, says he spent about $3,500 this past week on car parts, gardening supplies and electronics, including a 40″ Hisense television and Macbook laptop for his son.

“Now is the time to buy,” he told ABC News, adding they were items he was planning to purchase anyway but decided to buy sooner rather than later to avoid any potential price increases.

While stocking up on some items now may make sense, experts caution consumers to buy only what they can afford and not go into debt to get ahead of the “tariff effect.”

“A lot of people are dealing with diminished savings and rising debt, so they may not be in a position to make a big purchase or put together a large stockpile,” Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate, tells ABC News. “Take the long view. It might make more sense to drive your existing car for a bit longer or live with the old kitchen cabinets another year or two.”

With nearly all U.S. trading partners now subject to a 10% tariff and even higher “reciprocal tariffs” to come April 9 for about 60 trading partners that have a high trade deficit with the United States, some consumers worry that everyday items may soon not only be more expensive, but harder to find.

The mere thought conjures images of empty store shelves during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Americans were scrambling for everything from toilet paper to baking flour.

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban added to those worries this week, posting on the social-media platform BlueSky that people should “buy lots of consumables” now before prices go up.

“From toothpaste to soap, anything you can find storage space for, buy before they have to replenish inventory,” Cuban said. “Even if it’s made in the USA, they will jack up the price and blame it on tariffs.”

Experts say they don’t anticipate any shortages.

“Of course, if everyone heeded [Cuban’s] advice, there probably would be some issues, but we’re not seeing evidence this is happening at scale,” Rossman said. “Thankfully the supply chain is in much better shape than it was during the pandemic.”

With the average American household carrying about $6,600 in debt, according to TransUnion, experts say it’s important to take a measured approach and consider your long-term financial situation and goals.

“I realize sometimes people need to carry debt for various reasons,” said Rossman, “but don’t make it worse by panic buying. Rushing to make a big purchase often doesn’t end well.”

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(NEW YORK) — U.S. stocks closed down significantly on Friday after a continued selloff amid fallout from President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 2,230 points, or 5.5%, while the S&P 500 plunged 6%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 5.8%. The decline put the Nasdaq into bear market territory, meaning the index has fallen more than 20% from its recent peak.

The trading session on Friday marked the worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020. The second-worst day for U.S. stocks since that year happened on Thursday, a day earlier. Over the past two days, the S&P 500 dropped more than 10%.

Corporate giants that rely on supply chains abroad were among the firms that continued to see shares fall. Apple fell 7% and e-commerce firm Amazon slid 4%.

Shares fell for each of the so-called “Magnificent Seven,” a group of large tech firms that helped drive stock market gains in recent years.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, dropped 5%. Chipmaker Nvidia slid 7%.

Tesla, the electric carmaker led by Trump-advisor Elon Musk, declined more than 10%.

On Friday, China said it will impose 34% tariffs on U.S. goods in response to the levies issued by Trump earlier this week.

In a social media post hours later, Trump signaled a commitment to the tariff policy.

“TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Trump later criticized China in a different social media post, saying, “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!”

Trump’s Wednesday announcement of tariffs on nearly all American trade partners sent U.S. and foreign markets alike into a tailspin.

All three major American stock markets closed down on Thursday, marking their worst day since June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NASDAQ fell 6%, the S&P 500 4.8% and the Dow Jones nearly 4%

Global markets gave early signals of the difficulty to come on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei index lost 3.5% on Friday, while the broader Japanese Topix index fell 4.45%.

In South Korea, the KOSPI index was down 1.7%, with the country grappling with both Trump’s tariffs and the news that South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Indian investors joined the sell-off on Friday, with the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex indexes both falling more than 1%. India’s stock markets had previously performed better than others thanks to lower tariffs than competitors like China, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Australia’s S&P/ASX, meanwhile, continued its slide into Friday with another 2% drop taking the index to an 8-month low.

In Europe, too, stock markets fell upon opening. Britain’s FTSE 100 index dropped more than 1%, Germany’s DAX fell 0.75%, France’s CAC lost 0.9% and Spain’s IBEX slipped 1.4%.

ABC News’ Leah Sarnoff, Max Zahn, Victor Ordoñez and Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.

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