Donald Trump announces 90-day tariff pause; DOW shoots up 2,400 points, NASDAQ 1,400

Walmart — the nation’s largest retailer — has walked away from its guidance for first-quarter operating profit growth of between 0.5% to 2%, citing the risk of tariffs. The company however said on Wednesday that it continued to expect first-quarter sales growth of 3% to 4%.

Meanwhile Delta airlines pulled its guidance for 2025 on Wednesday as the trade war scrambles expectations for business and household spending and depresses bookings across the travel sector.

“With broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled. In this slower-growth environment, we are protecting margins and cash flow by focusing on what we can control. This includes reducing planned capacity growth in the second half of the year to flat over last year while actively managing costs and capital expenditures,” CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement on Wednesday.

Europe Union approves retaliatory tariffs between 10% and 25% on US goods.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has begun testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee on President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade agenda

US President Donald Trump urged people to ‘be cool’ on Wednesday— even as his recently announced tariffs sparked an escalating global trade war. He also stressed that this was “a great time to buy” in a social media post.

” BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” he wrote on Truth Social.

European Union members ave approved new tariffs on $23 billion in US goods in retaliation for Trump’s steel, aluminum tariffs.

Oil prices plunged as much as 7% on Wednesday, hitting fresh four-year lows before recovering some ground, after China announced additional tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation against President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.

China will impose 84% tariffs on U.S. goods from Thursday, up from the previously announced 34%, the finance ministry said.

Brent futures were down $2.47, or 3.9%, to $60.35 a barrel at 1423 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $2.35, or 3.9%, at $57.23.

Both contracts lost about 7% before paring losses.

Wall Street’s main indexes were mixed at the open on Wednesday after China announced more levies on U.S. goods, retaliating to President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs that took effect earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 257.7 points, or 0.68%, at the open to 37,387.91. The S&P 500 fell 17.5 points, or 0.35%, at the open to 4,965.28​, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 27.5 points, or 0.18%, to 15,295.441 at the opening bell.

The EU Commission has said that countermeasures can be suspended at any time if the US can ‘agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome’.

The European Union has indicated plans to impose its first countermeasures against US tariffs on April 15. The EU commission also said that it had secured backing from EU countries for first countermeasures against us tariffs

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated on Wednesday that there were ‘over 70 negotiations lined up’ with other nations.

“Europe would cut own throat by aligning with China…China is the only country that’s escalated on trade. The tariff levels are a ceiling if other countries don’t retalitate…Economically we are in pretty good shape. There is a little uncertainty, but companies tell me that economy is very solid,” reports quoted him as saying.

World coffee and cocoa prices hit fresh multi-month lows on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping trade tariffs took effect, including massive 104% duties on Chinese goods.

Trump’s punishing tariffs have shaken the global trading order, and raised fears of higher prices, weaker demand and potentially a global recession. Trillions of dollars have been wiped off equity markets since they were introduced.

“In our view, the bull market (in coffee) is likely over unless a fresh fundamental catalyst — such as a frost — emerges. The breathless headlines about tariffs will likely continue,” said broker and consultant Michael J Nugent.

He said that cash-strapped, demoralised consumers were already set, pre-tariffs, to tighten their belts as the blistering rally that sent coffee prices to record levels gets passed down to them.

Robusta coffee futures traded on the ICE exchange and seen as a global price benchmark fell 3% to $4,650 per metric ton at 1227 GMT, having hit their lowest in more than four months at $4,625. Arabica coffee fell 2.6% to $3.2920 per lb, having touched its lowest in more than two months.

(via Reuters)

“I think probably that’s a likely outcome, because markets, I mean, when you see a 2000-point decline [in the Dow Jones Industrial Average], it sort of feeds on itself, doesn’t it,” he told Fox News Business on Wednesday.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the US is working to revise its port fees plan for Chinese-built vessels

US stock market futures have fallen by over 100 points as China imposes additional tariffs of 84% on US goods.

“I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them, that they have some very smart the economist and the academicians, technocrats within their bureaucracy, and they would be telling the leadership that we do not have the edge here. They are the surplus country that their exports to the U.S. are five times our exports to China. So they can raise their tariffs. But so what? No one wins in a war. But it’s proportionality. And the proportionality for the Chinese is going to be much worse,” he told Fox News.

China filed a new complaint to the World Trade Organization on Wednesday against further U.S. tariff measures, the Chinese Mission to the WTO said in a statement.

“China filed a WTO complaint against United States’ further 50% additional tariff measures on Chinese products,” the statement said.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent told Fox News during an interview on Wednesday that ‘everything was on the table’ when it came to the ongoing trade war with China. He was fielding a question about the possibility of removing Chinese stocks from US exchanges.

US stock index futures fell sharply on Wednesday after China announced more levies on U.S. goods, retaliating to President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs that took effect earlier in the day.
The world’s second largest economy would impose additional tariffs of 84% on all US goods from April 10, up from the 34% previously announced, China’s finance ministry said.
As hopes of concessions faded and tariffs on dozens of countries began, investors ramped up their exit from stocks, industrial commodities and even government bonds.
At 07:21 a.m., Dow E-minis were down 517 points, or 1.37%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 1.21% to 4,959.75 and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 183.75 points, or 1.07%.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent told Fox News during an interview on Wednesday that the 84% retaliatory tariffs announced by China was ‘unfortunate’.

“This is a GREAT time to move your COMPANY into the United States of America, like Apple, and so many others, in record numbers, are doing. ZERO TARIFFS, and almost immediate Electrical/Energy hook ups and approvals. No Environmental Delays. DON’T WAIT, DO IT NOW!” he wrote on Truth Social.

A savage selloff in US bonds has sparked fears that foreign funds were fleeing American assets. U.S. Treasuries extended losses in a sign investors are dumping even their safest assets and the dollar, a traditional safe-haven, was weaker against other major currencies.

Warning signals had been flashing for a few days, as spreads between Treasury yields and swap rates in the interbank market collapsed under a weight of bond selling.

The bond market saw prices tumbling and yields rising on Wednesday amid growing recession fears. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped 12 basis points to 4.386% and at one point overnight climbed above 4.5%.

Hedge funds were at the heart of it because their lenders could no longer stomach the ‘basis trade’ – large positions betting on small differences between cash Treasuries and futures prices as markets started to swing on tariff headlines.

India is considering measures such as extending interest subsidies on bank loans and offering incentives to help exporters to diversify amid rising global uncertainty after the U.S. tariff hikes, two government sources said.

A 26% tariff on Indian exports – alongside even steeper duties on some other countries like China – has escalated trade tensions, and raised concerns among Indian exporters of gems and jewellery, chemicals, pharmaceutical and engineering goods.

The proposed support measures could be discussed at a meeting late on Wednesday, convened by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, with nearly 30 export promotion councils representing millions of exporters, said one of the government sources with the knowledge of the matter.

(via Reuters)

China has announced the imposition of additional tariffs against the US — from 34% to 84%. The Chinese finance ministry said that the additional levies on American goods would be imposed from April 10.

China has increased tariffs fro 34% to 84% after the US government moved to impose a 104% levy from Wednesday.

According to an update shared by Reuters, China has expressed ‘grave concern’ at the World Trade Organization about the ‘reckless’ tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

European Union countries are expected to approve on Wednesday the bloc’s first countermeasures against Trump’s tariffs, joining China and Canada in pushing back.

The European Commission, which coordinates EU trade policy, has proposed extra duties, mostly of 25%, on a range of U.S. imports from motorcycles, poultry, fruit, wood, and clothing to dental floss, according to a document seen by Reuters.

They are to enter force in stages.

Trump’s tariffs are expected to cause a bigger hit to euro zone economic growth than initially estimated by the European Central Bank, although inflation may also be lower in the short term, four sources told Reuters.

Gold prices firmed on Wednesday as traders sought the safe-haven asset after U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs came into effect, while a weaker dollar and the rising prospect of U.S. rate cuts lent support.

Spot gold rose 2.1% at $3,044.94 an ounce, as of 1009 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 2.4% to $3,062.40.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.7%, making greenback-priced gold cheaper for overseas buyers.

Trump’s tariffs, which included a 104% duty on Chinese goods, came into effect at 0401 GMT, intensifying concerns about a global trade war and recession.

European shares fell and US stock futures pointed to more pain ahead on Wednesday — following a grim session for most of Asia. Chinese stocks bucked the trend, however, as state support propped up the ailing market.

European Union countries are expected to approve the bloc’s first countermeasures against Trump’s tariffs Wednesday. It joins China and Canada in retaliating.

Taiwan’s central bank signaled a watchful stance on Wednesday, pledging to closely monitor the ripple effects of US tariffs alongside domestic economic and financial developments. It emphasised readiness to make “timely adjustments” to its monetary policy as needed.

In a report presented to lawmakers, the bank assured that it would deploy appropriate monetary tools to inject liquidity and ensure the banking system remains well-funded and stable.

Chinese and Hong Kong markets bounced back on Wednesday, ending the day on a high after a wave of optimism swept through investors. A diplomatic nudge from Beijing and fresh pledges of state support for the local market has been the catalyst in this case.

Despite opening in the red, the blue-chip CSI300 Index staged a comeback to close 1% higher, while the Shanghai Composite climbed 1.3%. Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index added 0.7%, riding the positive momentum.

Driving the sentiment shift was China’s release of a White Paper, signaling a willingness to engage in dialogue with the US — a measured response to President Donald Trump’s imposing of a steep 104% tariff on Chinese imports. China also released a White Paper that said Beijing was willing to communicate with Washington to resolve differences and friction that it considered normal for the world’s two biggest economies.

(With inputs from Reuters)