12.06.2025 10:19
Early Thursday morning, US stock futures experienced a significant downturn following President Trump's announcement of impending unilateral tariffs. The Dow Jones index plummeted over 200 points, reflecting investor unease.
During a Wednesday evening appearance at the Kennedy Center, President Trump dismissed the possibility of extending the current 90-day tariff pause, set to expire on July 9th. He stated that negotiations were ongoing with approximately fifteen countries, including Japan and South Korea, but that the US would soon unilaterally dictate tariff rates.
Trump revealed that the administration plans to dispatch letters to over 150 trading partners within the next one to two weeks, presenting them with a take-it-or-leave-it tariff structure. He characterized the recently proposed trade agreement with China as exceptionally favorable, expressing complete satisfaction with its terms.
This announcement triggered a negative market reaction. Pre-market trading saw significant drops across major US indices. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 6,004 points. The Dow Futures experienced the most substantial decline, dropping 0.5% to 42,684 points. The Nasdaq Futures also decreased by 0.4%, reaching 21,799 points.
Global markets mirrored this negative trend. The pan-European STOXX Europe 50 index declined by over 0.4%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.65%, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closed down 1.36%. These figures clearly illustrate the widespread impact of Trump's announcement on international investor confidence.
