United States stock futures plunged on Wednesday evening (Thursday AEDT) as President Donald Trump introduced sweeping tariffs starting at 10%, with significantly higher rates for some nations.
By 9:30 am AEDT (10:30 pm GMT) Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 2.6%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures hit fresh seven-month lows, declining 3.8% and 4.6%, respectively.
Shares of multinational corporations tumbled in after-hours trading. Nike fell 7.2%, while Apple lost 6.9%.
Retailers reliant on imports were among the hardest hit, with Five Below plunging 14.3% and Gap dropping 8.6%.
Tech stocks also suffered steep losses amid risk-off sentiment. Tesla declined 5.8%, Nvidia lost 4.5%, Amazon shed 5.8%, and Meta fell 4.7%.
The new tariff structure includes a 10% baseline rate on all countries, effective April 5. However, the White House confirmed that nations imposing higher trade barriers on the U.S. will face even steeper duties in the coming days.
Trump clarified the policy during a press conference, stating: “We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us."
Investor concerns deepened as it became clear that certain countries would face tariff rates far exceeding initial expectations. The White House confirmed that China, for instance, will be subject to an effective 54% tariff, factoring in existing levies and the new reciprocal rate.
