U.S. Stock Futures Plunge as Trump's Defiance on Tariffs Sparks Global Market Turmoil
- Victor Nwoko
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
U.S. stock futures fell sharply on Sunday evening following a week of severe market losses triggered by former President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped by 4.1 percent, or 1,531 points. S&P 500 futures declined 4.6 percent, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 5.3 percent. In Japan, early trading saw the Nikkei 225 tumble nearly 8 percent.
Trump reaffirmed his commitment to the tariffs despite their impact on financial markets and global trade. In a social media statement, he defended the policy, citing trade deficits with China and the European Union, and calling tariffs a “very beautiful thing.” He insisted the new measures were already generating revenue for the U.S. and pledged to reverse trade imbalances “quickly.”
Markets were expected to open lower on Monday as investors braced for continued volatility.
The crisis began on Wednesday when Trump unveiled his tariff plan, branding the day “Liberation Day.” While tariffs had been anticipated, the extent of the measures took many by surprise, prompting market sell-offs and retaliatory action from China. Details about how the tariffs were calculated further fueled uncertainty.
On Sunday evening, Trump addressed reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from a weekend in Florida. He claimed that world leaders had been calling him with interest in negotiating, and that tech executives had offered private support. However, he declined to name individuals, citing uncertainty about the confidentiality of the discussions.
“I spoke to a lot of Europeans, Asians, all over the world. They’re dying to make a deal,” Trump said. “But I said we’re not going to have deficits with your country. We’re not going to do that because to me a deficit is a loss.”
When asked whether he anticipated further market losses, he replied, “What’s going to happen to the markets I can’t tell you. But our country is much stronger.” He added that any discussions with other countries would require significant payments to the U.S., but resisted the label of “negotiation.”
Pressed about a video he had shared implying that a stock market crash might be part of his economic strategy, Trump denied the suggestion. “No that‘s not so. But I do want to solve the deficit we have with China, the European Union and other nations,” he said.
Asked if he had a threshold for how far the market could fall, he responded, “I think your question is so stupid. I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”
On Friday, the Dow Jones closed with a loss of 2,231 points and the S&P 500 dropped 6 percent in reaction to the tariff plan. The past week marked the stock market’s worst performance since 2020, with total losses over two days amounting to $6.4 trillion.
Trump also dismissed concerns about inflation, pointing to his previous term in office. “I took in hundreds of billions of dollars from China… and we had no inflation,” he said. “Who had inflation was Biden. Biden had the worst inflation in the history of our country. I had no inflation.”
He criticized trade deficits and U.S. spending on international alliances, claiming the country could not afford to lose $1.9 trillion on trade while funding NATO. “The whole thing is crazy, and I got elected on that basis,” he said. “The American people understand it a lot better than the media.”
On Saturday, widespread protests erupted across the U.S. and globally, as tens of thousands marched in opposition to Trump’s policies on tariffs, immigration, free speech, and currency reform.
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