Global markets battered as US tariffs go live

Hopes of seeing Donald Trump roll back tariffs before they go live were dashed this morning—along with sentiment across global financial markets. The Nikkei is down more than 2%, a Bloomberg index tracking Asian currencies fell to a record low, and European and US futures hint at another very, very ugly trading session, with losses between 2–4% at the time of writing. I won’t say much about yesterday’s rebound: moves of that magnitude – above 2–3% – aren’t sustainable unless there’s a clear resolution to the tariff problem. China, on the other hand, is seeing limited losses across the CSI 300 companies. Despite being hit by 104% tariffs starting today, Chinese authorities said they will "fight to the end." That likely includes massive and unprecedented measures to keep the economy afloat. Trump’s trade policies continue to weigh on the US dollar, on rising recession bets—the dumbest recession in world history, probably. The US 10-year spiked from under 4% to over 4.50% in just three sessions. The US 30-year hit 5% a few hours ago as companies are selling their liquid assets while investors simply don’t want to take the risk. There are also rumours that China may be dumping US Treasuries in retaliation. Gold is bid above the $3000 per ounce level, while US crude tests the $57pb support to the downside. Listen to find out more!