On April 7, the global financial market ushered in a "Black Monday" under the haze of "reciprocal tariffs". Stock markets in many countries fell sharply at the opening, and various assets such as crude oil futures, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies suffered heavy losses.

  Global financial "eye of storm" hit under the US tariff stick

  In the early trading of the Asian market on April 7, US stock futures continued the plunge trend last week, with Nasdaq futures falling by more than 5%, S&P 500 futures falling by more than 4%; European stock index futures also fell sharply, European STOXX50 index futures falling by more than 4%, DAX index futures falling by nearly 5%, and FTSE futures falling by more than 4%.

  Other Asian stock markets also saw a sharp drop on Monday, with Nikkei 225 Index Futures and Eastern Stock Index Futures suspending trading after hitting the limit.

  South Korean stock market also fell sharply. After the KOSPI 200 futures fell by 5%, the South Korean exchange launched a suspension mechanism and suspended programmatic trading for 5 minutes.

  The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index fell 2.75% at the opening, and then the decline expanded rapidly, falling more than 6% as of press time.

  Singapore stock market continued its downward trend after opening on the 7th, with the Sea Index falling 7.29%.

Historical trend of WTI crude oil prices

  The crude oil market was also not spared, despite a cumulative decline of 10% last week, WTI crude oil futures continued to plummet on Monday, falling below $60 per barrel, the lowest since April 2021, with an intraday decline of 4%.

  In the precious metals market, spot gold, safe-haven assets, fell 1% simultaneously to US$3,008.30/ounce, and spot silver fell 3% at the beginning of the session to US$28.5/ounce, with a single-week decline of 13%.

  The cryptocurrency market also joined the ranks of plunging, with Bitcoin and Ethereum falling 5% and 10% respectively, and other cryptocurrencies also falling sharply.

  On April 6 local time, major stock indexes of Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, fell the biggest since 2020. Stocks in the Saudi main board market fell 6.1% at one point, while stock indexes in Qatar and Kuwait fell more than 5.5%. Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil exporter, is reportedly one of the region's biggest losers. The company's market value once evaporated by more than $90 billion.

  The fuse of this storm is directly aimed at the "reciprocal tariff" policy announced by the United States on April 2 - imposing a minimum tariff of 10% on all trading partners, and the tax rate in some countries is as high as 49%. Market concerns about global supply chain breaks and soaring inflation quickly evolved into a sell-off frenzy. Federal Funds Futures hinted that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by 120 basis points this year, which also reflects the market's deep panic about the economic recession.

  The "trade war" against many countries is becoming more and more intense

  The United States imposed tariffs, which aroused strong opposition from the international community. Many countries quickly took countermeasures, and trade frictions continued to escalate.

  Canadian Prime Minister Carney announced an increase in retaliation tariffs on US imported cars, accusing Trump of his unreasonable behavior.

  European Commission President von der Leyen said the EU has the ability to resist and will launch a retaliation plan.

  French President Macron criticized Trump's tariff policy and urged companies to suspend investment in the United States. A French government spokesperson said a second round of countermeasures may be launched before the end of April.

  The British government announced the launch of a retaliatory tariff consultation process against the United States.

  The counter-actions of these countries have made the global trade situation more tense and further exacerbated the uncertainty of global financial markets.

  "Stop!" People around the world protested

  The United States' policy of imposing tariffs has been boycotted worldwide. On April 5, a large-scale anti-Trump march called Hands Off broke out across the United States. The largest protest during Trump's second term, covering the capital and 50 states, attracted more than 150 groups and millions of people to participate, and about 1,300 rallies. Demonstrators shouted slogans such as "protect the Constitution" and "strike oligarchy" to protest against Trump's policies such as tariffs.

  At the same time, in many European cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Lisbon, people also took to the streets to march and demonstrate, forming a wave of protests of "transatlantic linkage".

  "Relativity tariffs" impact global economy

  On April 3, the WTO and the International Monetary Fund both issued early warnings saying that reciprocal tariff policies pose major risks to the global outlook. JPMorgan Chase research pointed out that due to US trade policy, the probability of a global recession has risen from 30% to 40%.

  The unilateral imposition of tariffs by the United States not only undermines the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain, hinders the normal progress of international trade, but also pushes up global inflation expectations and weakens consumers' purchasing power. At the same time, the escalation of trade frictions has led to a significant increase in market uncertainty, investors' confidence has been frustrated, and funds have sought to avoid risks, further exacerbating the turmoil in the financial market.

  The plummeting asset prices, the continued decline in US stocks, intensified trade frictions and continuous public protests all show that the US imposition of tariffs has triggered systemic risks in the global financial market.

  Trade protectionism and tariff wars have never effectively solved economic problems. In the 1930s, the United States issued the Smut-Holly Tariff Act to significantly impose tariffs, triggering a global trade war and causing a deep recession in the world economy. Now the United States has repeated the same mistake. When people are angry about the price increase of daily necessities and the financial market votes with a plunge, the answer is already obvious.

[Editor in charge: Liu Yang]