Donald Trump has been speaking as he signed executive orders from the White House.

Trump claimed that the US is making $2bn a day from tariffs. He did not provide any details.

“The tariffs are on and money is pouring in at a level we’ve never seen,” he said.

“America is going to be very rich again very soon,” he said.

US stocks dived on Tuesday after yet another volatile trading day.

The S&P 500 fell 1.6% after wiping out an early gain of 4.1%, which had it on track for its best day in years. That brought the index nearly 19% below its record set in February.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 683 points, or 1.8%, after giving up an earlier surge of 1,460 points.

The Nasdaq composite was down 3.2%.

The US stock market is careening through a second straight day of stunning swings with Wall Street’s main indexes flitting between red and green, as investors’ hopes ebbed for US delays or concessions on tariffs ahead of a midnight deadline.

The S&P 500 lost an early gain of 4.1%, which had it on track for its best day in years, and slumped 1.7% with about an hour left in trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 403 points, or 1%, after giving up its earlier surge of 1,460 points, while the Nasdaq composite was 2.4% lower, as of 3.13pm Eastern time.

Stocks globally had rallied much more earlier in the day, with indexes up 6% in Tokyo, 2.5% in Paris and 1.6% in Shanghai.

But even after those jumps, analysts had been warning to expect more swings up and down for financial markets not just in the days ahead but also the hours.

The US will impose a 104% tariff on China starting from midnight tonight, the White House’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

“It will be going into effect at 12.01am tonight. So effectively tomorrow,” Leavitt told reporters.

Asked if Donald Trump will do a deal with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, she said:

The Chinese want to make a deal. They just don’t know how to do it. [Trump] believes China has to make a deal with the United States.

The US president has threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff on imports from China unless Beijing rescinds its retaliatory tariffs of 34%.

The additional 50% tariff on China would be on top of the 34% reciprocal tariff Trump announced last week and the 20% already in place.

FTSE 100 closed 208.5 points up at 7,910.5, a 2.7% rise

France’s CAC closed 131.9 points up at 5,265.0 a 2.6% rise

Germany’s DAX rose 2.5% to 20,280.3, up 490.6 points

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 2.7%

US trade representative Jamieson Greer has said Donald Trump is not expected to announce exemptions to his global tariffs “in the near term”.

Greer, speaking before the US Senate finance committee on Tuesday, said:

The president has been clear, again, that he’s not doing exemptions or exceptions in the near term.

He added that “Swiss cheese” in the process would undermine the goal of trade reciprocity.

Asked if there is a timeline for negotiations, Greer said:

We don’t have any particular timeline set on that because … the outcome is more important than setting something artificially for us.

“What I can say is I’m moving as quickly as possible, and a lot of these countries are moving very quickly,” he added.

With stocks flying on both sides of the Atlantic, after big gains in Asia, here’s a quick recap.

Global stock markets are recovering some of their recent heavy losses, on hopes that some of America’s trading partners can strike deals to avoid Donald Trump’s new tariffs.

Shares are romping higher on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 index jumped by 3.3% in early trading.

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that other countries appear to be more willing to negotiate than China. He explained:

“If they come to the table with solid proposals, I think we can end up with some good deals, and part of the calculus of that may be that some part of the tariffs stay on.”

Bessent also claimed the US holds a substantial advantage over China in the trade talks. He told CNBC:

“I think it was a big mistake, this Chinese escalation, because they’re playing with a pair of twos.”

China has refused, so far, to fold, though - overnight, it vowed to “fight to the end” if the US continues to escalate the trade war.

Donald Trump has posted that China wants to make a deal, adding that “we are waiting for their call”.

Earlier today, China’s CSI 300 share index rose by 1.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei surged by 6%.

The UK’s FTSE 100 has jumped by 3.5%, which would be its best day since February 2022.

Across Europe, the Stoxx 600 index is now up 3.4%, on track for its best day since March 2022.

The City money markets are expecting the Bank of England (BoE) to cut interest rates next month, with a small chance of a large cut.

Rachel Reeves stepped in to soothe stock market jitters, telling parliament she had spoken to Andrew Bailey, the governor of the BoE, who confirmed “markets are functioning effectively and that our banking system is resilient”.

Reeves argued again that a trade war “is in nobody’s interest”, confirming that the UK was seeking to negotiate a new deal with the US and that she would meet the US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, “shortly”.

Goldman Sachs has suggested oil could plunge to just $40 per barrel in an ‘extreme scenario’ in which the trade war leads to a global slowdown and a US recession.

The sight of shares soaring on Wall Street is cheering the mood in the City.

The FTSE 100 is now up by almost 3.5% today at 7,966 points, up 264 points today. That would be its biggest daily gain since February 2022.

Boom! Stocks are surging on Wall Street at the start of trading.

The S&P 500 share index has jumped by 3.3% as investors pile into stocks, up 169 points at 5,232 points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks 30 large US companies, has surged by 1,380 points, or 3.6%, to 39,346 points. The tech-focused Nasdaq index jumped 3.7%.

Shares are rallying after US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said that he believes the US can reach “some good deals” with trading partners.

This will bring some relief to stock holders, after the sharp plunge in share values on Thursday and Friday last week.

That follows a wild day’s trading yesterday, in which the Dow ended up down 0.9% while the S&P 500 dropped 0.2% for the day. The Nasdaq was 0.1% up.

Traders appear to be hoping that some of the tariffs announced by Donald Trump last week will be negotiated away, as some countries call the White House to agree talks.

However, as Donald Trump just posted, he is still waiting for the phone to ring from Beijing.

Today’s rally may calm concerns that Wall Street was sinking into a bear market, as AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould, explains:

“The good news is that bear markets tend to be much shorter than bull ones, even if they can be undeniably brutish and nasty and laden with traps which lure in the unwary before their work is done.

“The S&P 500’s rally on Monday takes it out of bear market territory, but the technology-laden NASDAQ Composite has fallen by 23% from its December zenith, so the situation remains delicately poised, especially as share prices seem to be hanging upon president Trump’s every word on the subject of trade and tariffs.

Donald Trump has just announced that he is waiting for China to call to begin trade negotiations.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president says he has had a ‘great call’ with South Korea’s acting leader.

Trump writes:

I just had a great call with the Acting President of South Korea. We talked about their tremendous and unsustainable Surplus, Tariffs, Shipbuilding, large scale purchase of U.S. LNG, their joint venture in an Alaska Pipeline, and payment for the big time Military Protection we provide to South Korea.

They began these Military payments during my first term, Billions of Dollars, but Sleepy Joe Biden, for reasons unknown, terminated the deal. That was a shocker to all! In any event, we have the confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries. Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good. We are likewise dealing with many other countries, all of whom want to make a deal with the United States.

Like with South Korea, we are bringing up other subjects that are not covered by Trade and Tariffs, and getting them negotiated also. “ONE STOP SHOPPING” is a beautiful and efficient process!!! China also wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started. We are waiting for their call. It will happen! GOD BLESS THE USA.

Reminder: yesterday Trump threatened China with new 50% tariffs unless Beijing abandoned their new 34% retaliatory tariffs against the US, by today.

But today, China’s government says it will “fight to the end” if the US continues to escalate the trade war.

European stock markets are flying now, on track for their best day in two and a half years.

The Stoxx 600, which tracks stocks across Europe, is now up 2.7% today, which would be the biggest daily rise since October 2022.

France’s CAC has jumped by 2.5%, while Germany’s DAX index is 2.3% higher.

Wall Street is on track to jump at the start of trading, in just over an hour’s time.

The futures market is indicating that the S&P 500 will jump by 2.7%, recovering some of the stinging losses suffered last week.

The Dow Jones industrial average is on track to jump by 3%, a gain of 1,160 points, which would take the Dow back up to 39,326 points.

Traders may be heartened by Treasury secretary Scott Bessent’s comments today that some 70 countries have reached out to the White House to begin talks about tariffs.

This follows solid gains in Europe, where the UK’s FTSE 100 index is now up 2.5%, or 192 points, to 7894 points, having ended Monday at a one-year closing low.

Investors are refusing to be spooked by the heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington DC. China insisted overnight that it will fight Trump’s tariffs ‘to the end’, after being threatened with new 50% tariffs by Trump yesterday unless its retaliatory tariffs were dropped swiftly.

Instead, hopes of a breakthrough in trade negotiations are rising, following reports that Japan is moving to the front of a long line of countries seeking to roll back President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs.

As Bessent put it to CNBC this morning:

“I think you are going to see some very large countries with large trade deficits come forward very quickly.

If they come to the table with solid proposals, I think we can end up with some good deals.”

Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will hold talks with Japanese officials, who are keen to remove the 24% tariff imposed on Japan.

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has told CNBC that everything is on the table, as countries try to negotiate away tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.

Speaking to CNBC today, Bessent said that around 70 countries have reached out to the White House to begin talks.

President Donald Trump will be personally involved in negotiations, Bessent added.

He explained that the US is looking at non-tariff barriers, such as currency manipulation and Europe’s value-added tax, as well as absolute tariff levels.

Bessent says:

“Everything is on the table.

The academic literature shows that it’s actually the non-tariff barriers which are harder, both harder to quantify and ... they’re more insidious because they’re hidden, they’re obfuscated.”

[Fact check: The Trump White House claim VAT is unfair, as the US doesn’t impose it (although they do have state-level sales tax). However, as VAT is charged on domestic products as well as imports, it’s isn’t a tariff].

Bessent also insisted that the US holds a substantial advantage over China in the trade war brewing between Washington DC and Beijing.

He told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”:

“I think it was a big mistake, this Chinese escalation, because they’re playing with a pair of twos.

What do we lose by the Chinese raising tariffs on us? We export one-fifth to them of what they export to us, so that is a losing hand for them.”

Bessent also compared the US tariffs to an ‘ice cube’, which would ‘melt’ over time as companies moved production to America rather than making goods overseas.

Bessent explained:

“If we put up a tariff wall, the ultimate goal would be to bring jobs back to the U.S. But in the meantime, we will be collecting substantial tariffs.

If we’re successful, tariffs would be a melting ice cube, in a way, because you’re taking in the revenues as the manufacturing facilities are built in the U.S., and there should be some level of symmetry between the taxes we begin taking in with the new industry from the payroll taxes as the tariffs decline.”

[thanks to CNBC for the quotes].

Newsflash: The UK chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has told MPs that she has been assured by the Bank of England that the financial markets are functioning effectively, and that Britain’s banks are ‘resilient’.

In a statement to parliament in the last few minutes, Reeves says that the decicion by the United States to impose tariffs has had – and will continue to have – “huge implications for the world economy”.

She says:

These implications have been reflected in the reaction we have seen in global markets over recent days, which the financial authorities have, of course, been closely monitoring. This morning I spoke to the Governor of the Bank of England, who has confirmed that markets are functioning effectively and that our banking system is resilient.

I know too that this is an anxious time for families who are worried about the cost of living. We have your backs.

And British businesses who are worried about what a changing world will mean for them. We have your backs too.

Reeves then says that a trade war is in nobody’s interest, adding:

It is why we must remain pragmatic, cool headed, and pursue the best deal with the United States that is in our national interest. This remains our priority - and this was part of the discussions that I had with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week. But we have been clear that nothing is off the table.

It is why we will continue to back British businesses during these uncertain times – particularly those industries that are most affected – as we rebuild our industrial base here in Britain.

She points to the support announced yesterday for the car-making sector.

Reeves adds that she has held discussions with her counterparts in Canada, Australia, Ireland, France, Spain, and with the European Commission, and will hold trade deal talks with the Indian government tomorrow.

City investors have been raising their betting that the Bank of England will cut interest rates next month.

The money markets are now indicating there is a 95% chance that the BoE lowers UK interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%, a quarter-percentage-point cut, at its next meeting in early May.

That leaves a 5% chance that the Bank goes large with a half-point cut, lowering rates to 4%.

Cutting rates by half a percentage point, rather than just a quarter point, would be a significant move by the Bank, and signal it was very worried about the impact of the US trade war on the UK economy.

Charlie Bean, a former BoE deputy governor, has argued that the Bank should cut interest rates by at least half a percentage point to 4%.

Speaking to the Guardian, Bean said:

“It is not just the tariffs that are the problem, it is the huge uncertainty these actions have created, delaying buying and investment decision by businesses and consumers.”

The United States is starting to resemble an emerging market more than a developed country.

That’s the magisterial verdict from the head of pan-European stock exchange operator Euronext today, following the last week of market mayhem.

Euronext CEO Stephane Boujnah told France Inter radio the “Fear exists all over”, Reuters reports, adding:

“The country (United States) is unrecognisable and we are living in a transition period.

There is a certain form of mourning, because the United States that we had known for the most part as a dominant nation resembled the values and institutions of Europe and now resembles more an emerging market.”

Europe’s stock market rebound is gathering pace!

In the City, the FTSE 100 index of the largest companies listed in London is now up 2%, or 153 points, at 7852.

That lifts the FTSE 100 away from its lowest level in over a year.

But, as this chart shows, it makes little headway in the heavy losses suffered since Donald Trump announced his new tariffs last week.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index is now up 1.75%, following gains in many Asia-Pacific markets overnight (Reminder: Japan’s Nikkei jumped 6% after Japan became the first major economy to secure priority tariff negotiations with Donald Trump.)

Joshua Mahony, analyst at Scope Markets, says:

With Trump rebuffing claims that he will delay tomorrows targeted tariffs by 90-days, traders should prepare for fresh volatility as we move through the week.

Nonetheless, US plans for a $1 trillion defence spending bill have helped lift European defence contractors and manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce and Rheinmetall.

Trump’s rejection of the EU’s offer of a zero-tariff deal on cars and some industrial products does highlight that we are likely moving towards some form of free-trade agreement.

The head of the European Commission has called on China to help negotiate a solution to the trade war gripping the global economy.

Ursula von der Leyen spoke to China’s premier Li Qiang by phone, to discuss the state of EU-China relations.

According to the EC, von der Leyen underscored the vital importance of stability and predictability for the global economy (something the recent market crash has also highlighted).

And she said Europe and China both have a responsibility to support a strong reformed trading system, that is “free, fair and founded on a level playing field”.

A readout of the call says:

The President called for a negotiated resolution to the current situation, emphasising the need to avoid further escalation.

Von der Leyen also emphasised “China’s critical role in addressing possible trade diversion caused by tariffs”, a nod to concerns that good initially meant for the US market could be sold in Europe instead, to avoid Trump’s tariffs.

Oil has fallen by 14% over the last week, as Donald Trump’s trade war has spooked the energy markets.

And this is causing anxiety in Moscow.

Reuters reports:

A sharp drop in global oil prices triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs poses a risk to the Russian economy, the state TASS news agency cited Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of Russia’s central bank, as saying on Tuesday.

She was quoted as saying that the central bank was analysing the fallout, but as saying that a technical budget rule would smooth out the consequences for the budget.

Goldman Sachs has predicted that oil prices could fall below $40 per barrel by the end of next year, if Donald Trump’s trade war hammers the global economy and suppliers keep increasing production.

In a new research note, Goldman estimate that Brent would fall just under $40 per barrel in late 2026, if there is a US recession leading to a global GDP slowdown, and if the OPEC+ group unwind all their existing production cuts regardless.

That would be the lowest price for oil since November 2020, (just before the first analysis showing the Covid-19 vaccines were effective triggered a market rally).

Goldman says:

Oil prices are unlikely to fall well below $40/bbl on a sustained basis for two reasons.

First, US shale offers an increasingly firmer floor at lower prices.

Second, a potential 2025 US recession is unlikely to be very deep, in part given a lack of major financial imbalances in the private sector.

Brent crude is trading around $64 per barrel today..

Goldman’s baseline forecast is that oil will dip to $62/barrel by December, and to $55/barrel by the end of 2026. That is based on there being a “large reduction in tariffs”, allowing the US economy avoiding a recession, and only moderate supply increases from OPEC+.

This is seen as more likely than the “more extreme and less likely scenario” of a global slowdown and a full unwind of OPEC+ cuts that would send oil below $40.

The chair of Ford UK has flagged the risks that Donald Trump’s trade war hurts consumer confidence, denting demand for new cars.

Speaking to Radio 4’s Today Programme, Lisa Brankin said that “everyone in business” is concerned by the impact of new US tariffs.

Brankin says most of what Ford sells in Europe is made in the region, so there is very little exposure to tariffs.

But “one of the challenges ahead is customer confidence”, Brankin says, adding:

What we really want to make sure is that customer demand remains strong.

Worryingly, some UK companies are reporting that the new US tariffs could hurt their businesses.

Belluscura, a UK medical device company which develops oxygen enrichment technology, has this morning withdrawn its financial guidance for this year.

Belluscura, which is listed on the AIM stock market, told shareholders:

The Company is currently assessing the potential financial implications, risks and opportunities of the imposition of tariffs, in particular the 54% tariff (previously 20%) for goods imported from China, in which a significant proportion of the Company’s Portable Oxygen Concentrators, raw materials and component parts are currently manufactured.

AIM-listed specialist investor Impax has also flagged the threat of tariffs this morning, as it warned the City it expects its full year profits will be below market expectations.

Citing “the impact on global markets of an escalating trade war”, Impax told investors:

“Market conditions in the second half of FY25 remain highly uncertain.

The UK’s health secretary has warned that US tariffs provide “another layer of challenge” for ensuring the supply of medicines.

Wes Streeting told Sky News:

“Until this trade war erupted, we’d already had issues with medicines production and supply internationally.

We are constantly watching and acting on this situation to try and get medicines into the country, to make sure we’ve got availability, to show some flexibility in terms of how medicines are dispensed, to deal with shortages.

But whether it’s medicines, whether it’s parts for manufacturing, whether it’s ... the ability of businesses in this country to turn a profit, this is an extremely turbulent situation.”

Newsflash: Europen stock markets are rising at the start of trading, despite fears that the trade war between the US and China is intensifying.

Following three days of turmoil, the UK’s London stock exchange is regaining some ground. The FTSE 100 share index is 95 points higher in early trading, up 1.2%, at 7799 points.

Airline operator IAG are the top rise, up 4.9%, followed by technology investor Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (+4%), miners, oil companies and banks.

Markets are higher across Europe too; France’s CAC index jumped by 1.8%, and Germany’s DAX is 1.3% higher.

This follows gains in some Asia-Pacific markets today, with Japan’s Nikkei jumping by 6%.

The rally comes despite China’s commerce ministry vowing to fight US tariffs “to the end”, after Donald Trump threatened to impose additional levies of 50% unless Beijing dropped its retaliatory tariffs.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last night that he hoped tariff rates will come down as negotiations get going with US trading partners.

Jim Reid, market strategist at Deutsche Bank, says that optimism over a US-Japan tariff deal is lifting markets:

He told clients:

The market selloff has shown some initial signs of stabilising after the incredible rout over recent days. For instance, the S&P 500 was “only” down -0.23% yesterday, and futures this morning are up +1.32%, which would be the first positive day since the reciprocal tariffs were announced.

That pattern has been evident globally, and in Asia this morning, the Nikkei (+4.99%) is on course for its best day since the summer turmoil, surging back after Treasury Secretary Bessent said that “I would expect that Japan is going to get priority”.

China’s currency has weakened to its lowest level in 19 months today.

The yuan, which is tightly controlled by the People’s Bank of China, dropped to 7.3363 to the dollar, the weakest level since September 2023.

The yuan slipped after the PBOC lowered its target rate for the yuan to 7.2038/dollar (it can then trade in a 2% band aroud that point).

A weaker yuan could help China’s exports more competitive overseas, which could be valuable in a global trade war and could cushion higher tariffs at the US border.

Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, says the yuan has slipped past the ‘line in the sand’:

The PBOC just crossed the line in the sand — today’s fix dropped on the wrong side of 7.20 for the first time since 2023. That level wasn’t just psychological — it was the unofficial devaluation threshold. Translation: this isn’t a warning shot, it’s Beijing quietly signaling that something much bigger could be coming.

We flagged this yesterday, even as certain anti-Trump media corners tried to spin a weaker yuan as some kind of export booster. Let’s be honest: devaluation isn’t stimulus — it’s desperation. And it comes with serious tail risk.

The UK is “well placed to weather the tariff shock” rippling out from the US, argues Berenberg bank in a research note this morning.

Berenberg say they expect many of Donald Trump’s new tariffs to be negotiated away in the next three months, containing the global damage. However, the worst-case scenario of a global recession cannot be ruled out, they say.

In that situation, though, the UK – “No longer the leader in economic self-harm”, they say – could do quite well.

They argue:

The UK has not been short of policies that damage the economy over the past decade. But the US administration’s assault on foreign trade will overshadow the UK’s missteps.

If Donald Trump’s trade war and the equity market sell-off trigger a global recession, the UK would of course struggle. However, the UK is relatively well placed to weather the tariff shock. The additional 10% rate it faces is at the bottom end of the range imposed by the US. Healthy consumer finances, lower energy prices and a fall in interest-rate expectations will also help.

Despite this, UK equity prices have fallen by as much as their European counterparts in the year to date.

The UK’s weakness as an exporter could even turn into a strength in the current environment, Berenberg add:

UK goods exports to the US account for less than 2% of GDP (most of which are re-exports), compared to 3.2% for the Eurozone. The share of UK value added embodied in US demand is well below 1% of GDP. UK government calculations imply that the 10% tariff will directly reduce GDP by less than 0.1%.

In our view, the UK could even stand to make a gain. Some UK producers may gain US market share from worse-hit competitors, and international companies could relocate operations to the UK to avoid higher charges. Admittedly, the spillover from slower growth in economies worse affected by US tariffs will ensure that, in absolute terms, UK growth is weaker than it otherwise would have been.

If you’re just catching up with today’s continued market ructions over Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, here’s a recap of where we stand.

• China’s government says it will “fight to the end” if the US continues to escalate the trade war, after the US president threatened 50% additional tariffs in response to Beijing’s retaliatory measures, ramping up the chances of a disastrous stand-off between the two economic superpowers. China’s commerce ministry accused Washington of “blackmail” and said Trump’s threats of steeper tariffs if Beijing did not reverse its own 34% reciprocal tariff were a “mistake on top of a mistake” and that China would “resolutely take countermeasures”.

• Asian markets appeared to improve slightly in early trading on Tuesday, a day after a torrid Monday on global markets that prompted the billionaire investor Bill Ackman, one of the US president’s backers in the 2024 race for the White House, to call for a moratorium.

• Tokyo traded up more than 6%, recovering much of Monday’s drop, after Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba held talks with Trump. Nippon Steel added about 11% after Trump launched a review of its proposed takeover of US Steel that was blocked by Joe Biden, his predecessor.

• Hong Kong gained more than 2% but was well off recouping Monday’s loss of more than 13% that was the biggest one-day retreat since 1997.

• Shanghai was also up on Tuesday after China’s central bank promised to back major state-backed fund Central Huijin Investment in a bid to maintain “the smooth operation of the capital market”. Sydney, Seoul, Wellington and Manila also rose.

• The advance followed a less painful day on Wall Street, where the S&P and Dow fell but pared earlier losses, while the Nasdaq edged up. Oil prices also enjoyed some respite, gaining more than 1%.

• Others did not fare as well, amid analyst warnings that things could get worse. Taipei shed more than 4% to extend the previous day’s record loss of 9.7%, while Singapore also suffered further selling. Trading in Jakarta was suspended soon after the open as it plunged more than 9% as investors returned from an extended holiday, while the bourse in Vietnam – which has been hit with 46% tariffs – shed 5%.

• The European Commission has proposed counter-tariffs of 25% on a range of US goods, while saying it stands ready to negotiate a “zero for zero” deal with Trump. The 27-member EU – already hit with tariffs on vehicles and metals – faces another 20% on other items from Wednesday. EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic told a news conference: “Sooner or later, we will sit at the negotiation table with the US and find a mutually acceptable compromise.”
  – With Helen Davidson and agencies

Gold prices bounced back on Tuesday from a near four-week low reached in the previous session as concerns over a global trade war increased investor appetite for safe-haven assets.

Spot gold was up 0.5% at $2,996.6 an ounce, as of 0340 GMT. Bullion hit its lowest level since March 13 on Monday, Reuters reports. US gold futures gained 1.3% to $3,010.70.

“Escalation of the trade war could trigger a global recession, and that is driving safe-haven demand,” said a senior analyst at Reliance Securities, Jigar Trivedi.

“Despite slipping in the previous sessions, gold is still strong and should remain on the upward trend” because of the bullish undertone.

Gold, often considered a safe investment during times of political and financial uncertainty, scaled an all-time peak of $3,167.57 on 3 April.

Markets will be closely monitoring minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, scheduled for release on Wednesday.

Traders also await US consumer price index data, due on Thursday, and the producer price index on Friday for US interest rate cues amid the escalating global trade war and recession fears.

Shares in Thailand have fallen more than 4% at open after Monday’s holiday break, AFP is reporting.

India’s benchmark Nifty 50 is expected to open higher today, rebounding after it logged its steepest single-day drop in 10 months.

The GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 22,683 as of 8.03am IST, indicating that Nifty would open 2.3% higher than its Monday close of 22,161.6, Reuters reports

The Nifty and the 30-stock BSE Sensex fell 3.2% and 3%, respectively, on Monday, compared to the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index’s 8.4% fall, as a US tariff-fuelled sell-off triggered anxiety among investors.

The total market value of all NSE-listed companies has fallen by $280bn in three sessions since the US tariff announcement last Wednesday.

Most Wall Street equities closed lower overnight. And while Indian equities could likely rebound, “the current investor sentiment is characterised by uncertainty and fear, and it will persist till the time a new normal for global trade is established”, said Shiv Chanani, fund manager of equity at Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

The Nifty volatility index – or the fear index – jumped 66% to 22.79, the biggest daily rise in 10 years.

Dhupesh Dhameja, a derivatives research analyst at Samco Securities, said:

The dramatic rise in the volatility index highlights a surge in market anxiety and signals uncertainty among investors ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy meeting.

Vietnam’s stocks are down more than 3.5% after the trading holiday, AFP is reporting, while Indonesian shares have plummeted over 9% at open.

China’s commerce ministry has vowed to fight US tariffs “to the end” after Donald Trump threatened fresh levies of 50% on imports from the world’s second-largest economy.

“The US threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which once again exposes the US’s blackmailing nature,” a ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“China will never accept this,” AFP quoted them as saying.

If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end.

If the US escalates its tariff measures, China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests.

Trump upended the world economy last week with sweeping tariffs that have raised fears of an international recession and triggered criticism even from within his own Republican Party.

As the trade war escalates, Beijing – Washington’s major economic rival – unveiled its own 34% duties on US goods to come into effect on Thursday.

China’s commerce ministry on Tuesday also reiterated that it sought “dialogue” with the US, and that there were “no winners in a trade war”.

Hong Kong stocks opened 1.66% higher after Monday’s collapse, while Shanghai stocks extended their losses at open amid the increasing US-China trade war.

Taiwan stocks fell 3% in early trade, AFP reports.

South Korea’s government has approved Tuesday 3 June as the date for a snap presidential election, following the removal from office of Yoon Suk Yeol last week over his declaration of martial law.

The move comes after Yoon’s removal after the country’s constitutional court voted unanimously on Friday to uphold parliament’s decision to impeach him over his ill-fated declaration of martial law in December.

The ruling meant the acting president, Han Duck-soo, would remain in office until the country elected a new leader within 60 days.

South Korea’s trade minister said the government has been considering packages of measures to increase US imports, as he headed to visit Washington to negotiate over Trump’s tariffs.

Cheong In-kyo said on Tuesday ahead of the trip that it was good news Donald Trump had said the door was open for talks over tariffs with nations other than China, Reuters reports.

“It is difficult to reduce exports, so shouldn’t we then increase [US] imports? In that regard, we have been reviewing many different packages to resolve the trade balance problem,” Cheong said.

He said the government had been internally discussing increasing LNG imports from the US.

In Japan, meanwhile, prime minister Shigeru Ishiba will nominate economy minister Ryosei Akazawa as trade negotiator with the US, FNN television reported on Tuesday.

Ishiba and Trump agreed to open bilateral talks on tariffs during a phone meeting on Monday.

Trump has put Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer in charge of trade negotiations with Japan, Bessent said on social media.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index has now risen 5%, news reports are saying.

The jump comes after financial markets across the globe posted a third day of losses on Monday as investors worried that steep trade barriers around the world’s largest consumer market could lead to a recession.

The S&P 500 closed lower after US stocks swung in and out of the red on Monday morning as a report circulated that Donald Trump was going to pause the implementation of his sweeping tariffs for 90 days. But that was quickly dismissed by the White House as “fake news”.

Today’s rise comes after the US president’s new ultimatum to China marked the latest escalation from Washington. Trump has threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff on imports from China on Wednesday unless it rescinds its retaliatory 34% tariff on US imports by Tuesday.

But China said on Monday it would not cave in to pressure and threats.

Japan’s Nikkei share average is up 1.9% after the Tokyo stock market’s opening this morning, Reuters is reporting.

The European Union said on Monday it had offered “zero-for-zero” tariffs to the US weeks before Trump’s tariff announcement and was in negotiations with the administration.

But Donald Trump didn’t appear keen on the offer, telling reporters zero-zero tariffs were not going to happen.

Trump said selling energy to the EU would be a key focus as his administration seeks to eliminate a trade deficit with the bloc.

“The European Union’s been very bad to us,” Trump said, accusing European nations of not buying enough US goods.

They’re going to have to buy their energy from us, because they need it and they’re going to have to buy it from us. They can buy it – we can knock off $350 billion in one week.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the global stock market response to Donald Trump’s sweeping trade tariffs following the huge falls on Asian markets yesterday.

Extreme volatility plagued global stock markets on Monday, with Wall Street swinging in and out of the red as Trump defied stark warnings that his worldwide trade assault will wreak widespread economic damage, comparing new US tariffs to medicine.

A renewed sell-off began in Asia, before hitting European equities and reaching the US. It was briefly reversed amid hopes of a reprieve, only for Trump to threaten China with more steep tariffs, intensifying pressure on the market.

China said Monday it would not cave in to threats after Trump vowed an additional 50% tariffs on its goods if Beijing did not retract planned countermeasures.

“We have stressed more than once that pressuring or threatening China is not a right way to engage with us,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for Beijing’s embassy in the US, told Agence-France Presse. “China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”

The US president later dampened hopes of a reprieve further when he told reporters in the Oval Office he was “not looking at” pausing tariffs to allow for negotiations.

During a bilateral meeting with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump was asked if the tariffs were permanent or open to negotiations. Trump responded: “They can both be true, there can be permanent tariffs and there can be negotiations.”

“There are things we need beyond tariffs, like open borders,” Trump insisted – once again hitting out at China, claiming “China is a closed country” charging too high tariffs. He did confirm the US was talking to Beijing about the tariffs.

It looks set to be another bumpy ride on the markets today. Follow along for the latest news, reaction and analysis.