The United States equity futures took a nosedive, putting the S&P 500 on the brink of a bear market, as the Donald Trump administration showed no signs of backing down from its trade war — something many economists fear could drag the world’s biggest economy into a recession.
Futures tracking the S&P 500 fell 3.33% by 7.08 am ET (1208 GMT), Dow futures dropped 2.73%, while Nasdaq 100 e-minis tumbled 3.83%, led by declines in shares of megacap tech companies, news agency Reuters reported. Apple sank 7.4%, reeling from the impact of an aggregate 54% tariff on China, which is the base for much of Apple's manufacturing. Microsoft dropped 2.5% and Nvidia fell 5.3%, it added.
CNBC host Jim Cramer predicted a 1987-like 'Black Monday' coming week because of the tariffs Donald Trump imposed on countries. ‘If the president doesn't try to reach out and reward these countries and companies that play by the rules, then the 1987 scenario...the one where we went down three days and then down 22% on Monday, has the most cogency. We will not have to wait too long to know. We will know it by Monday,’ Jim Cramer said.
‘It’s tough to build a new, weaker, world order on the fly. Frantically trying to do it but don’t see anything yet that takes the October 87 scenario off the table yet. Those who bottom-fished are sleeping with the fishes …so far,' Cramer posted on X.
Former treasury secretary Larry Summers said last week’s selloff was the fourth-largest two-day move since World War II, after the 1987 market crash, the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 Covid pandemic.
Global stock markets: 10 updates
1.In other markets, treasuries rallied again after the two-year yield fell to the lowest since 2022. Oil plunged to a four-year low on Friday, while gold surged. Haven currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc strengthened versus the dollar, Bloomberg reported.
2. Top Trump officials, including treasury secretary Scott Bessent, dismissed investor fears of inflation and slower growth, offering no apologies for the market turmoil and defiantly insisting a boom is on the horizon.
3. President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) said foreign governments would have to pay ‘a lot of money’ to lift sweeping tariffs that he characterised as ‘medicine,’ as financial markets indicated another week of steep losses could be in store. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump indicated he was not concerned about market losses that has already wiped out nearly $6 trillion in value from US stocks.
4. On Monday, Asian shares nosedived after the meltdown. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 8% shortly after the market opened and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 tumbled more than 6%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 4.4%.
5. In India, stock markets may face volatile trends before the Reserve Bank of India's interest rate decision and the US inflation data announcements, as investors continue to assess the broader implications of US tariffs on global economy and inflation, analysts said. Investors fear that a full-blown trade war will impact global trade and economic growth, according to market experts.
6.India's benchmark indexes are poised to open sharply lower on Monday. The GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 21,128.5, as of 7:21 am IST, indicating that the blue-chip Nifty 50 will open 3.4% lower than Friday's close of 22,904.45, Reuters reported.
7. ‘This week is set to be volatile for global and Indian markets, as US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs worldwide, igniting fears of an all-out trade war and a global economic recession. The US inflation numbers will be released along with the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes,’ Puneet Singhania, director at Master Trust Group, said.
8. China investors are bracing for a grim Monday as the nation’s markets return from an extended weekend and factor in its retaliation to US tariffs. A gauge of Chinese stocks listed in the US plunged 8.9% on Friday, the most since October 2022, amid global market turmoil after Beijing announced 34% tariffs on all imports from the US. That came during a holiday for Chinese and Hong Kong equities, which will restart trading on Monday.
9. Oil sank at the week’s open after Saudi Arabia slashed its flagship crude price by the most in more than two years, and the escalating trade war spurred concerns about a global recession and weaker demand. Global benchmark Brent dropped by almost 4% to $63.01 a barrel, a four-year low, after slumping 11% last week, while West Texas Intermediate was at $59.93. State producer Saudi Aramco will lower Arab Light crude to its biggest buyers in Asia by $2.30 a barrel for May. The move came just days after the OPEC alliance announced an unexpectedly large output hike.
10. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday signalled the central bank is on high alert for a spike in inflation caused by the tariffs, diminishing the likelihood of rate cuts any time soon, even as traders priced in more cuts this year as a response to an economic downturn.
