US stocks plunge in after-hours trading following Trump’s tariff announcement

WASHINGTON: US stocks tumbled in after-hours trading as President Donald Trump delivered remarks at the Rose Garden and unveiled sweeping tariffs, according to a report by CNN. All eyes will now be on the Asian indices when they open for trading.

Dow futures tumbled 256 points, or 0.61%. S&P 500 futures slid 1.69%. Futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 fell 2.54%. Stocks had closed higher ahead of Trump’s tariff announcement but began to slide as Trump revealed his administration’s plan for rolling out tariffs.

Exchange-traded funds that track the major stock indexes also tumbled in after-hours trading. An ETF tracking the Dow fell 1.1%, while an ETF tracking the S&P 500 slid 2.2%, and an ETF tracking the Nasdaq 100 slid 3%, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, the most actively traded gold futures contract in New York briefly rose above USD3,200 a troy ounce, a record high. Gold is up more than 20% this year and just posted its best quarter since 1986. Gold is considered a safe haven amid economic and political uncertainty.

Trump announced new import tariffs on Wednesday (local time), outlining the rates to be imposed on countries around the world, with India facing a 26% tariff.

The import tariffs on other major countries are China (34 per cent), European Union (20 per cent), Vietnam (46 per cent), Taiwan (32 per cent), Japan (24 per cent), India (26 per cent), United Kingdom (10 per cent), Bangladesh (37 per cent), Pakistan (29 per cent), Sri Lanka (44 per cent), Israel (17 per cent).

Trump’s announcement came while he addressed the Make America Wealthy Again Event. At the event, Trump said, “The United States charges other countries only a 2.4 tariff on motorcycles. Meanwhile, Thailand and others are charging much higher prices like 60%, India charges 70%, Vietnam charges 75% and others are even higher than that.”

The US President further said that a 25 per cent tariff would be imposed on all foreign-made automobiles. “Such horrendous imbalances have devastated our industrial base and put our national security at risk. I don’t blame these other countries at all for this calamity. I blame former presidents and past leaders who weren’t doing their job… Effective at midnight, we will impose a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles.”

He also emphasised that after decades of exploitation, the era of American taxpayers being “ripped off” was over. Trump said, “Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it is not going to happen anymore.”

Trump further said, “In a few moments, I will sign a historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world. Reciprocal: That means they do it to us and we do it to them. This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It is our Declaration of Economic Independence. For years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. With today’s action, we are finally going to be able to make America great again, greater than ever before.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the White House had said that the tariffs would go into effect immediately. (ANI)