Investors were nervously awaiting the open of US trading after Wall Street’s selloff last week following the Trump administration’s tariffs announcement, anticipating another week of turbulence as other nations react.
In the two days following Trump’s Wednesday (Apr 2) tariff announcement, the benchmark S&P 500 index fell 10.5 per cent and lost about US$5 trillion in market value. It was the biggest two-day loss since March 2020. Thursday and Friday’s steep slide put the S&P 500 down more than 17 per cent from its Feb 19 all-time closing high, and brought it closer to bear market territory, which would be a 20 per cent decline.
Futures will open at 6 pm ET (6 am, Singapore time) Sunday, which will give an indication of how trading might look on Monday.
“The bull market is dead,” said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial. “We might see some gains in the next few days, but for now they’re not going to be sustainable.”
The timing of the tariffs news, which coincided with the beginning of the first-quarter earnings season, is contributing to the gloomy outlook, Malek said.
On Sunday morning talk shows, Trump’s top economic advisers sought to portray the tariffs as a savvy repositioning. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that there was “no reason” to anticipate a recession.
