Global stock markets: Donald Trump vows 'only the weak will fail' after Ftse 100 AND Dow Jones drop to five-year low

Trump issues five-word warning after markets falter to five-year record low

Donald Trump has released an ominous five-word warning on Truth Social after today's market chaos.

"ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!" the President said - but he now could face down a rebellion from within.

Trump-backing Senator Ted Cruz said that "if the tariffs remain in place and we have retaliatory tariffs" it could plunge the US into recession - and "2026 in all likelihood politically would be a bloodbath", referring to the US mid-term elections next year.

"You would face a Democrat House, and you might even face a Democrat Senate," Cruz warned.

"Look, we've got a 53 to 47 majority in the Senate. But if we're in the middle of a recession and people are hurting badly, they punish the party in power.

"And to be clear, if that happens... the Democrat House that gets elected will immediately impeach Donald Trump, and we would spend the next two years of 2027 and 2028 with constant impeachment battles, constant investigations, constant political attacks, all of the weaponisation that we saw in the first term."

As markets collapse, China turns off the tap - Beijing slaps crucial rare earth minerals with export limits

Just days after firing back at the US with 34 per cent tariffs on American imports, China has announced it will impose export restrictions on rare earth minerals - which are key to US military and tech firms.

China produces as much as 90 per cent of the world's rare earth supplies - a group of 17 elements widely used in the defence, electric car, energy and electronics industries - and by firms like Lockheed Martin, Tesla and Apple.

The US, however, has just one rare earth mine. Most of its supply comes from China.

The export curbs include not only mined minerals but permanent magnets and other finished products which will be difficult to replace, analysts have warned.

Seven categories of medium and heavy rare earths, including elements samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium-related items, will be placed on an export control list as of April 4, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

US markets latest - Dow Jones in freefall as it joins Ftse in five-year record crash

The Dow Jones dropped by a staggering 2,063 points - or 5.1 per cent - on Friday, its biggest decline since June 2020 in the midst of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 nosedived 5.6 per cent, also the biggest decline since June 2020, and the Nasdaq Composite - which includes scores of tech firms which sell to and manufacture in China, dropped 5.4 per cent.

Keir Starmer convenes emergency international 'trade war' talks 

Sir Keir Starmer has warned against an "extremely damaging" international trade war in a phone call with his Australian and Italian counterparts, Downing Street has said.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said this afternoon: "Following this week's announcement that the United States will impose increased tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries, the Prime Minister has been clear the UK's response will be guided by the national interest, and that we will calmly continue with our preparatory work, rather than rush to retaliate.

"He discussed this approach with both leaders, acknowledging that while the global economic landscape has shifted this week, it has been clear for a long time that like-minded countries must maintain strong relationships and dialogue to ensure our mutual security and maintain economic stability.

"They all agreed that an all-out trade war would be extremely damaging and is in nobody’s interests while agreeing to keep in close contact in the coming days.

"The Prime Minister will be holding further calls with international leaders this weekend."

READ IN FULL: Donald Trump's row with Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell

As reported earlier, Donald Trump fired off a volley of demands to Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell earlier today.

About an hour ago, the President said on Truth Social: "CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!"

Then, speaking at a conference in Virginia, Powell hit back - though he vowed not to directly respond to any elected officials' remarks.

"We have stressed that it will be very difficult to assess the likely economic effects of higher tariffs until there is greater certainty about the details, such as what will be tariffed, at what level and for what duration, and the extent of retaliation from our trading partners," he said.

"While uncertainty remains elevated, it is now becoming clear that the tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected. The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.

"The size and duration of these effects remain uncertain. While tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation, it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent.

"Avoiding that outcome would depend on keeping longer-term inflation expectations well anchored, on the size of the effects, and on how long it takes for them to pass through fully to prices. Our obligation is to keep longer-term inflation expectations well anchored and to make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem."

Powell added that the Federal Reserve would remain a source of "calm, rational analysis and also of stability".

'It's like nothing we've seen for decades!' Wall Street sounds alarm as 'fear gauge' soars

Wall Street's "fear gauge", the Vix - or Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index - has risen to its highest level since the start of the world's Covid lockdowns.

The Vix jumped by 30 per cent today alone - and currently sits 127 per cent higher than the start of the year.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading firm IG, warned: "Sentiment is so fragile right now. Investors are firmly in the 'get me to cash now' phase, on fears that other nations will follow China's lead, and of course that the US President will respond to China’s tariffs with even more charges.

"This trade war is like nothing we've seen for years, perhaps decades."

RECAP: Wall Street PLUNGES immediately after US stock market opens as global economy takes a battering

US stock markets fell sharply at the opening bell after China announced retaliatory tariffs to Donald Trump's "liberation day" import taxes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.4 per cent to 39,562.23, continuing its downward trend.

The S&P sank 2.5 per cent to 5,264.52, whilst the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.8 per cent to 16,65.73.

This marks the second consecutive day of significant losses for US markets, the worst day for the market since March 2020.

Global stock markets have gone into free fall after China announced tariffs of 34 per cent on US goods this morning.

As US markets plunge, UK economists counsel relative calm - but Labour's NIC hikes loom

As the US markets continue to spiral, economists this side of the Atlantic are counselling calm - particularly with respect to interest rates - but have warned that Labour's National Insurance hikes could wreak havoc on the UK economy.

Markets have become more certain that the Bank of England will lower interest rates by more than they previously expected, one economist at Dutch bank ING says.

"Britain may have seen a more modest 10 per cent tariff imposed compared to the EU's 20 per cent," James Smith, UK developed markets economist at ING, said.

"But markets have staged a more dramatic repricing of Bank of England rate cuts than we've seen for the ECB. An extra 40 basis points worth of easing is priced over the next year compared to ten days ago.

"Still, the overall hit from tariffs on Britain's GDP is perhaps only 0.2 per cent or so. Certainly not enough to decisively change the outlook for UK growth.

"And remember, there are some decent tailwinds for growth this year, notably from government spending. Public expenditure is rising significantly this year, both for day-to-day and infrastructure. And for all the talk of cuts at the Spring Statement, spending is actually set to rise even faster across the next fiscal year than was planned back in October.

"We'll be updating our forecasts next week, but we're more likely to shave the numbers for late 2025 and into 2026. Before then, the much more immediate unknown is this weekend's hike in employer's National Insurance.

"It amounts to a 27 per cent increase in the amount of tax paid by companies on an average employee's salary. Survey after survey has shown it has lowered hiring intentions. So far though, redundancy notifications submitted to the Government haven't risen."

France lines up 'firm' response to Trump tariffs - as ministers warn US could destabilise world economy

French Industry Minister Marc Ferracci has called for a proportionate but firm response to US tariffs - but said Europe remains open to negotiating a solution.

Ferracci said that Trump's tariffs are "without precedent since the 1930s" - and could destabilise the global economy and cost jobs around the world.

Now copper plummets by record post-pandemic levels as recession chances hiked AGAIN

Copper is now on track for its biggest daily slide since the early days of the Covid pandemic in the aftermath of Donald Trump's tariff rollout.

Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange slid by 5.9 per cent to $8,812 per metric ton just before 2pm GMT - after earlier hitting $8,747, its lowest since August 8.

Over the last 15 years, copper, used in power and construction, only saw a bigger daily fall in March 2020, when the world grounded flights to curb the spread of the coronavirus, and in October 2011, during the Eurozone debt crisis.

"Growth-dependent metals have a bit of a disaster at the moment, with fears that tariffs would cause recession," said Dan Smith, head of research at Amalgamated Metal Trading.

"Confidence has been damaged badly, and it is not something you can undo quickly," Smith added.

Meanwhile, JP Morgan now sees a 60 per cent chance of the global economy entering recession by the end of the year, up from 40 per cent just days ago.

Bank stocks dip as worries of economic slowdown grow

Bank stocks have plunged as Wall Street opened this morning, with worries growing of a US economic slowdown.

Morgan Stanley dropped 6 per cent, while Goldman Sachs shed 5.5 per cent.

Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase dipped by 6.6 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively, while Wells Fargo tumbled 5 per cent.

S&P 500 plunges

The S&P 500, a broad measure of the US stock market, has dipped by 2.9 per cent after the benchmark shed 4.84 per cent yesterday.

Technology stocks have slumped as downward trend continues

Technology stocks suffered significant losses on Friday, as part of a downward trend.

Apple shares slumped more than 3 per cent, falling by 10 per cent decline for the week.

Artificial intelligence company Nvidia pulled back 5 per cent during Friday trading.

Tesla also saw its shared plunge, down by 6 per cent on the same day.

 Russell 2000 down by 4.2%

The Russell 2000 index of small US company stocks has slumped 4.2 per cent in early trading, to its lowest since December 2023.

Dow Jones now in 'correction territory'

The Dow Jones industrial average has plunged by 982 points at the open, falling 2.4 per cent to 39,563 points.

This significant drop means the Dow is now in 'correction territory', having fallen 10 per cent from its recent record high.

Nasdaq down by 3 per cent - and heads towards bear market

The Nasdaq Composite is heading into a bear market.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC dropped more than 20 per cent from its all-time closing high touched in December, putting it on course to confirm a bear market.

Trump reacts to China's retaliation tariffs

Donald Trump has reacted online to China's retaliatory tariff announcement, stating that the Chinese "panicked".

China announced tariffs of 34 per cent on US goods this morning, after the US unveiled its "Liberation Day" tariffs on Wednesday.

Posting on Truth Social, he said: "CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO""

The US Stock Exchange has opened

The US Stock Exchange opens for the first time since China's tariff retaliation.

US stock market opens in 15 minutes

All eyes will be pointed towards the US stock market when it opens in just 15 minutes.

On Thursday, Wall Street saw a historically bad day with the Dow Jones having a point drop that ranked in the top 5 worst of all time.

US employment soars ahead of tariff announcement 

The US economy added 228,000 jobs in March, significantly outpacing analyst expectations of 140,000, official figures show.

The strong performance comes despite February's figures being revised down to 117,000.

Meanwhile, unemployment ticked up slightly from 4.1 per cent to 4.2 per cent, according to the Labor Department.

This robust jobs report complicates the economic picture for the Federal Reserve.

Traders have been increasingly betting on interest rate cuts in response to Donald Trump's tariff war.

However, such strong employment figures could mean that cutting rates risks stoking inflation in the world's largest economy.

China files complaint with trade body after US 'Liberation Day' tariffs

China said it had opened a formal complaint against the new US. tariffs with the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

It said that saying the measures violate WTO rules and requesting consultations.

"China has filed the WTO complaint with respect to the United States' measures," the Permanent Mission of China to the World Trade Organization said in a statement.

British gas prices plummet to lowest in over six months

British and Dutch gas prices have plunged to their lowest in over six months in line with sharp declines in oil and stock markets.

It comes after China announced retaliatory tariffs on US goods of 34 per cent, sparking global recession fears.

The British front-month contract TRGBNBPMc1 was down 8.26 pence at 87.51 pence per therm.

The Dutch front-month contract TRNLTTFMc1 was down 3.62 euros, or 9 per cent at 35.86 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) or $11.63/mmBtu, by 1158 GMT, LSEG data showed.

Prices were already down in the morning but the fall accelerated after China announced additional tariffs.

UK-US trade deal talks 'ongoing' as Britain refuses to retaliate to tariffs

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that the UK Government is "determined to get the best deal we can" with the US in order to help protect Britain from the tariffs imposed by America.

It is thought a UK-US trade deal was nearly signed by the White House and Downing Street last week, before Donald Trump decided not to put pen-to-paper.

No10 has refused so far to retaliate to the 10 per cent tariffs imposed by Washington and is instead focused on securing a trade deal.

“Well, of course, we don’t want to see tariffs on UK exports, and we’re working hard as a government in discussion with our counterparts in the US to represent the British national interest and support British jobs and British industry,” the Chancellor said on Friday.

“Those conversations are ongoing at the moment, but we’re determined to get the best deal we can for our country.”

She would not give a timeframe for when she expected the discussions to bear fruit.

“I’m not going to give a running commentary on those discussions. They’ve been ongoing since our Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a successful visit to the White House to meet President Trump just a few weeks ago.

“Those conversations are ongoing. We want to do everything in our power, and we’ll continue to do everything in our power to get the best possible deal for British industry, working closely with them to protect prosperity and jobs here in the UK.”

Wall Street fear gauge hits highest level since August last year

The CBOE Volatility Index, which is used to gauge the level of fear among Wall Street traders, has risen to its highest level since August 2024.

Measuring future expectations of volatility on S&P 500 stock, it has risen since points to far today to 39.60.

Oil prices plunge to lowest level since 2021 

Oil prices have hit their lowest prices in more than four years.

Brent North Sea crude, which is often used as a benchmark for international prices, dropped by more than 6 per cent to below $66 per barrel.

It marks its lowest price since 2021.

It comes after eight OPEC+ countries agreed yesterday to increase oil production by 411,000 barrels per day in May.

OPEC had previously planned to produce 135,000 barrels a day next month.

Nasdaq 100 futures fall 20 per cent from all time high

The Nasdaq 100 futures have dropped by 3 per cent due to the significant exposure many tech companies have in China.

The index has fallen 20 per cent from its all-time highs.

Ftse 100 see immediate drop following Beijing statement

The Ftse 100 has been tumbling ever since trading began at 8.30am this morning.

However, the announcement from China that it would respond to the White House's tariffs with retaliatory measures of its own led to an immediate significant drop.

The UK's best-known stock market index dropped by about 4 per cent shortly after the announcement, losing around 150 points in the space of an hour and hitting the lowest level since December.

European indexes were also suffering steep falls with Germany’s Dax tumbling around 4.5 per cent and the Cac 40 down 4 per cent.

China confirms tariff retaliation to Donald Trump

China has confirmed it will impose additional tariffs of 34 per cent on all U.S. goods from April 10.

Beijing's Commerce Ministry said in a statement: "The purpose of the Chinese government's implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation."

It also added 11 entities to the "unreliable entity" list, which allows Beijing to take punitive actions against foreign entities.