Stock market today: Global shares skid as investors await more Trump
tariffs
[March 28, 2025] By
JIANG JUNZHE
HONG KONG (AP) — Global shares were mostly lower Friday as investors
mulled uncertainties brought by U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest
tariffs.
The future for the S&P 500 lost 0.4% and that for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average retreated 0.2%.
In Europe, Germany's DAX declined 0.6% to 22,537.65 and the CAC 40 in
France slid 0.5% to 7,950.56.
Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 8,680.66 after retail sales , with a
smaller-than-expected trade deficit in February.
Thailand's SET lost 1.1% after a powerful earthquake centered in Myanmar
rattled the region, causing the prime minister to declare a state of
emergency for the capital, Bangkok.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 1.8% to 37,120.33 on renewed heavy
selling of auto-related shares following Trump’s announcement he plans
to impose 25% tariffs on auto imports.
Toyota Motor Corp. shares lost 2.8% while Honda Motor Co. dipped 2.4%.
A report that Tokyo's inflation rate rose to 2.9% this month spurred
expectations that the Bank of Japan will likely raise its key interest
rate at its May policy board meeting.
In South Korea, the Kospi sank 1.9% to 2,557.98. Hyundai Motor Co. lost
3.5% and Kia Corp.'s shares lost 2.7%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng turned lower, falling 0.7% to 23,426.60. The
Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7% to 3,351.31.

Australia's S&P/ASX200 edged 0.2% higher, closing at 7,982.00. Taiwan's
Taiex tumbled 1.6%.
On Thursday, Wall Street ended with modest losses as Trump's tariff
escalation created winners and losers among auto stocks.
Better-than-expected data on the economy also helped support the market.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 5,693.31 and the Dow Jones Industrial
Average fell 0.4% to 42,299.70. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.5% to
17,804.03.
General Motors sank 7.4%, one of the market’s sharper losses. Ford Motor
dropped 3.9%.
Even U.S. automakers selling vehicles in the country can feel the pain
of such tariffs because their supply chains are spread throughout North
America and beyond. Trump says he wants more manufacturing to take place
within the United States.
Among the uncertainties are how the U.S. government will determine how
to apply tariffs to parts that are compliant with the free-trade
agreement that the United States and Mexico and Canada have, but are not
made entirely within the United States. Tracking parts could be
difficult.
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Currency traders work near the screens showing the foreign exchange
rates at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea,
Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
 Stock markets worldwide will likely
remain shaky as an April 2 deadline approaches for more tariffs.
That’s what Trump has called “Liberation Day,” when he will roll out
tariffs tailored to the United States’ trading partners. In each
case, he said the “reciprocal” tariff will match the burden the
other country places on the United States, including things like
value-added taxes.
“The burning question on every macro trader’s mind is: what’s really
lurking behind the reciprocal tariff curtain?” Stephen Innes of SPI
Asset Management said in a commentary.
Hopes are still high that Trump may ultimately opt for more targeted
or milder tariffs that are less painful for the global economy than
feared. But even if he does, all the talk about tariffs has already
made U.S. consumers and businesses more cautious and pessimistic. If
they pull back on their spending, that could hurt the economy.
So far, the economy has held steady.
One report Thursday said slightly fewer workers applied for
unemployment benefits last week than economists expected. It’s the
latest sign the job market may be settling into a “low fire, low
hire” state.
A second report said the U.S. economy’s growth during the final
three months of last year was slightly stronger than earlier
estimated.
On Wall Street, Petco Health & Wellness jumped 31.6% after the
retailer reported slightly stronger results for the latest quarter
than analysts expected.
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil dipped 33
cents to $69.59 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, lost 9 cents to $73.25 per
barrel.
The U.S. dollar dropped to 150.483 Japanese yen from 151.05 yen. The
euro edged down to $1.0779 from $1.0804.
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