US stock indexes plunged on Monday as investors braced on President Donald Trump's looming "Liberation Day" tariff plans.
The Dow Jones fell 290.65 points, or 0.68 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 56.93 points, or 1.01 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 277.34 points, or 1.58 per cent.
Investors appeared to be in a risk-off mood, selling tech bull market winners including Nvidia, Tesla and Meta.
Meanwhile, uncertainty around Trump's impending tariffs weighed heavily on equities, dragging stocks lower at the end of last week.
US stock futures plunged on Monday as investors awaited clarity on President Donald Trump's looming tariff hikes
REUTERS
The President did little to ease market concerns over the weekend - on Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported that he had recently pushed his advisers to adopt a more aggressive stance on tariffs.
Over in the UK, No10 has been forced to admit that tariffs will hit Britain - while YouGov polling revealed that recession fears have soared to a two-year high.
A slew of levies previously announced by the Trump administration will finally come into effect on Wednesday, which Trump has dubbed "Liberation Day".
These include a 25 per cent tax on "all cars that are not made in the United States".
LATEST AS BRITAIN BRACES FOR DONALD TRUMP'S TARIFFS:
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A slew of levies previously announced by the Trump administration will finally come into effect on Wednesday
GETTYBut in a Saturday interview with NBC, Trump stated that he "couldn't care less" if foreign car manufacturers raise their prices due to these new tariffs.
The President is also expected to announce his plan for reciprocal duties aimed at countries that impose tariffs on US imports.
Trump has indicated the levies will target all countries rather than a small group with trade imbalances with the US - though if British negotiators make their case, the President could still hand the UK a much-hailed "trade lane".
Motoring stocks also fell on Monday in response to the news - Ford Motor and General Motors were down around one per cent in premarket trading, while Stellantis shed nearly triple that figure.
Barclays equity strategist Emmanuel Cau noted: "Tariff risk has been well telegraphed and is largely priced in corners of the market. So Liberation Day may not be a complete shocker. However, no one wins from trade war, and clouds are gathering over the global growth outlook".
The Prime Minister's official spokesman confirmed this afternoon that No10 'expects the UK to be impacted' by the levies
PAMeanwhile, the Prime Minister's official spokesman confirmed this afternoon that No10 "expects the UK to be impacted" by the levies, despite a rosy readout of a UK-US "economic prosperity deal" call yesterday evening.
"When it comes to tariffs, the Prime Minister has been clear he will always act in the national interest, and we've been actively preparing for all eventualities ahead of the expected announcements from President Trump this week, which we'd expect the UK to be impacted by alongside other countries," the spokesman said.
"Our trade teams are continuing to have constructive discussions to agree a UK-US economic prosperity deal.
"But we will only do a deal which reflects this Government's mandate to deliver economic stability for the British people. And we will only act in the national interest."
