Futures on the S&P 500 Drop 3% as Selloff Gains – Europe Market Wrap
US stock futures fell, anticipating another day of huge losses on Wall Street, while bonds soared as China initiated the next chapter of the global trade war with fresh tariffs on US goods.
S&P 500 contracts plummeted 3%, while Europe’s market benchmark erased all-year gains. Tesla and Intel fell roughly 5% in premarket trading as technology stock losses accelerated. Traders rushed into safe havens, pushing 10-year Treasury rates below 3.90%, their lowest level since before the election.
The intensifying trade war is continuing to slam markets, with China declaring that it will react against the US with a raft of measures, including taxes on all American imports and rare earth export bans. Beijing will levy a 34% tariff on all US imports beginning April 10th, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Meanwhile, traders increased their hopes that the Fed will decrease interest rates this year. Money markets are fully pricing four quarter-point reductions by the end of the year, with a 50% likelihood of a fifth, up from only three cuts before levies were announced.
Concerns about growth have also weighed on commodity prices. Oil sustained the previous day’s 6% decline as OPEC+ unexpectedly opted to expand supply by three times the projected amount in May.
