With U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs on China and dozens of other countries taking effect Wednesday, global stock markets continued to feel the aftershocks.
In Toronto, the TSX composite index bounced back and forth between a loss and a gain three times within the first 20 minutes of trading, but was down by 0.3 per cent by 10:30 a.m. Stocks in New York were also mixed at the opening, but were on the rise by mid-morning, with the S&P 500 up by 0.4 per cent, the Dow Jones industrial average was up by 0.2 per cent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq up by 1.5 per cent.
Oil prices continue to fall, and are at their lowest levels since the global COVID-19 pandemic. In trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil had dropped to $56.95 (U.S.) per barrel, a fall of $2.63.
The loonie, meanwhile, is up by more than half a cent against the American dollar, and is trading at 70.62 cents (U.S.).
At midnight, Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs kicked in on dozens of countries, including China, which now faces a 104 per cent tariff on all its exports to the U.S. China announced Wednesday that it was responding in kind, levying an 84 per cent tariff on all imports from the U.S.
In a statement announcing their counter-tariffs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry blasted Trump’s tariffs, especially his decision to ramp the “reciprocal” tax on Chinese imports from 54 per cent up to 104 per cent.
“The U.S.’s practice of escalating tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which seriously infringes on China’s legitimate rights and interests,” the ministry said. Trump’s escalation, China said, is “adding insult to injury.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump encouraged investors to snap up stocks that had fallen for four straight days.
“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY,” Trump wrote.
In another post, he tried to encourage investors not to panic.
“BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!,” Trump wrote.
Overnight, markets in Asia were mixed. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index fell by just under four per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng see-sawed, but ended trading up by 0.7 per cent.
