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Stocks and the US dollar fall as Trump tariffs fuel concerns about economic growth

The S&P 500 index fell more than 4% on Thursday morning in New York, while the U.S. Dollar and oil prices were also down as Donald Trump's U.S. tariffs caused investors to flee for safe havens like bonds and yen.

The new 10% baseline tariff on imported products, plus the eye-watering tariffs that Trump imposed on dozens countries he claimed had unfair trade barriers, left traders frightened by their severity.

Investors are concerned that a full-blown dispute over trade could lead to a global economic slowdown, and even inflation. The latest round of U.S. tariffs has hit a world economy still recovering from the inflation spike after the pandemic and dealing with geopolitical tensions.

The euro rose by more than 2% versus the dollar. The dollar fell 2.51% against the Japanese yen to 145.49.

Nigel Green is the CEO of deVere Group, a global financial advisory firm. He said: "This is what you do when you claim to supercharge the economic engine of the world."

Nasdaq shares were down by more than 5% on the day, and technology stocks were among the biggest drags.

Apple's stock fell by 8.5% due to tariffs on China, where it manufactures most of its products. Amazon.com fell 7.8%, Microsoft was down 2% and Nvidia was down 5.1%.

As worries have grown, the losses are a continuation of the trillions that were lost by "Magnificent Seven", tech giants.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,489.79, or 3.53 %, to 40735.53, while the S&P 500 fell 228.84, or 4.04 %, to 5,442.13, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 915.44, or 5.20 %, to 16,685.64.

The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 23.68 points or 2.83% to 812.43.

RECIPROCAL LEVY

The 27-country EU block in Europe now faces a reciprocal 20% levy. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index was down by 2.59%.

Trump's tariffs were particularly harsh on Asia. China received a reciprocal tariff of 34%, Japan was hit by 24%, South Korea with 25%, and Vietnam with 46%.

In response, Vietnamese stocks fell 6.7%. The Nikkei 225 index fell 2.8%.

Pham Minh Chinh, Vietnam's Premier

Pledged to

Maintain the country's target for economic growth of at least 8 percent this year despite the U.S. imposition of its heavy tariffs on Southeast Asia's exports.

The rush to buy ultra-safe government securities that guarantee a steady income has pushed down U.S. Treasury rates. The yield of the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 17.8 basis points, to 4,017% from 4,195% at late Wednesday.

The yields on government bonds in the Eurozone fell. Germany's 10-year bond, which is the benchmark for the region, dropped 7.5 basis points to 2.65% after reaching 2.625%. This was its lowest level since March 4.

If tariffs cause recessions, the central banks of the world will likely lower interest rates. This is good for bonds.

Fitch, a credit rating agency, warned that they could be a game-changer for the U.S. economy and global economies. Deutsche Bank said it was a moment "once in a life time" which could reduce U.S. economic growth by between 1%-1.5% this year.

Olu Sonola, Fitch's director of U.S. Economic Research, said that many countries would likely be in a state of recession. If this tariff rate is maintained for a long time, you can forget about most forecasts.

Fitch downgraded China’s credit rating shortly after, citing steep U.S. Tariffs as the reason.

The oil prices fell by more than 6%. U.S. crude was down 7.07% to $66.64 per barrel while Brent, at $70.06 a barrel, was down 6.55% for the day.

Gold reached a record-high above $3,160 per ounce but then lost steam as the Japanese yen rose. Spot gold dropped 1.23%, to $3094.14 per ounce.

(source: Reuters)