China raises retaliatory levies on U.S. goods to 125% as dollar sinks

The week looks set to end much as it began, with global markets convulsing as Trump’s tariffs raise fears of recession.

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed, with U.S. ally Japan’s Nikkei 225 losing the most at 2.96%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and China’s CSI 300 both ended the day higher before China’s tariff increase announcement.

In Europe, major markets were all lower, led by Germany’s Dax which was down almost 1.7% in morning trading.

The dollar fell to its lowest in 10 years against the Swiss franc and its lowest in six months against the yen, Reuters reported, as the euro reached its highest level against the U.S. currency since February 2022 and gold hit another record high.

U.S. stock futures were all down between 0.6% and 0.7% as of 5 a.m. ET, after China announced it would raise its tariff on U.S. goods to 125%. The three major U.S. averages all closed lower yesterday, reversing some of their gains from a historic rally Wednesday after Trump announced a 90-day pause on higher targeted tariffs on all countries except China.

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