LONDON/SYDNEY: Global shares tumbled on Friday after the U.S. slapped dozens of trading partners with steep tariffs, while investors anxiously awaited U.S. jobs data that could make or break the case for a Fed rate cut next month.
The Stoxx 600 fell around 1% in the first hour of trading. It was 1.7% lower on the week, on track for its biggest weekly drop since early April.
Both Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were down around 1%.
Late on Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on U.S. imports from foreign countries. Rates were set at 25% for India’s U.S.-bound exports, 20% for Taiwan’s, 19% for Thailand’s and 15% for South Korea’s.
He also increased duties on Canadian goods to 35% from 25% for all products not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but gave Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs to negotiate a broader trade deal.
“The August 1 announcement on reciprocal tariffs are somewhat worse than expected,“ said Wei Yao, research head and chief economist in Asia at Société Générale.
Market reaction was not as volatile as April’s global asset declines, she added. “We are all getting much more used to the idea of 15-20% tariffs being manageable and acceptable, thanks to the worse threats earlier.”
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.5%, bringing the total loss this week to roughly 2.7%.
Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.6% lower, Chinese blue chips ended 0.5% down and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost more than 1%.
Overnight, Wall Street failed to hold onto an earlier rally. Data showed inflation picked up in June, with new tariffs pushing prices higher and stoking expectations that price pressures could intensify, while weekly jobless claims signalled the labour market remained on a stable footing.
Fed funds futures imply just a 39% chance of a rate cut in September, compared with 65% before the Federal Reserve held rates steady on Wednesday, according to the CME’s FedWatch.
Much now will depend on the U.S. jobs data due later in the day and any upside surprise could price out the chance for a cut next month. Forecasts are centred on a rise of 110,000 in July, while the jobless rate likely ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%.
The greenback found support from fading prospects of imminent U.S. rate cuts, with the dollar index up 1.5% this week against its peers to 100, in the biggest weekly rise since late 2022.
The tariff news appeared to have little impact on the Canadian dollar, which was last up 0.15%.
The yen was the biggest loser overnight, but recovered 0.2% to 170.5 yen. The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady on Thursday and revised up its near-term inflation expectations, but Governor Kazuo Ueda sounded a little dovish in the press conference.
Two-year Treasury yields fell one basis point to 3.9428%, while benchmark 10-year yields ticked up 2 basis points to 4.382%, after slipping 2 bps overnight.
In commodity markets, oil prices continued to fall after a 1% overnight plunge. Brent fell 24 cents to $71.46 per barrel, while U.S. crude fell 27 cents to $68.99 per barrel.
Spot gold prices were up 0.1% to $3,294 an ounce. – Reuters
