The worldwide financial sector experienced significant upheaval on Wednesday following Donald Trump’s declaration of extensive tariff measures aimed particularly at China and the European Union, potentially jeopardizing global economic stability.

Following the closure of Wall Street’s stock markets, the U.S. President unveiled the fresh initiatives. However, this news significantly impacted the open global financial markets, causing stock futures and bond yields to decline, whilst gold reached an unprecedented peak price.

Stocks struggle

Throughout the evening, US futures experienced significant declines, with the Dow Jones plummeting by 2.4 percent around 2345 GMT, the Nasdaq index nosediving by 4.2 percent, and the more comprehensive S&P 500 futures index decreasing by 3.5 percent.

In recent weeks, Wall Street has mostly been impacted by President Trump’s numerous trade pronouncements.

The potential bright side for investors might lie in the fact that this serves as an initial phase of discussions with various nations, which could lead to overall reductions in tariff rates moving forward,” noted Chris Zaccarelli from Northlight Asset Management in a client communication letter.

“However, at present, traders are acting swiftly and seeking explanations afterward,” he noted.

The share price of technology companies whose components are produced abroad also fell sharply, with Apple losing 7.4 percent after-hours, Nvidia falling 5.2 percent and TSMC declining 5.9 percent.

Futures markets generally exhibit significantly higher volatility compared to standard indices.

The apparel industry faced significant challenges as well, notably affecting China, which will incur an extra tariff of 34% starting April 9th. Similarly, Vietnam will impose a reciprocal rate of 46%.

Shares of brands whose garments are partially manufactured in China or Vietnam dropped significantly, with Gap declining by 8.5% post-market, Ralph Lauren decreasing by 7.3%, and Nike dropping 7.1%.

Safe-haven assets in demand

Investors rushed towards gold, as it continued to hit new highs amid trade-related instabilities.

The precious gold surged beyond its earlier peak set the previous day following Donald Trump’s latest statements, with prices reaching approximately $3,160 per ounce around 2345 GMT.

The cost of gold has surged by nearly 20 percent since the beginning of 2025.

The bond market also served as a sanctuary, with the yield on the key ten-year U.S. Treasury note declining to 4.10 percent following Donald Trump’s statement.

Yields on bonds shift inversely to their prices; when demand for bonds increases, yields generally decrease.

Weaker dollar

Shortly after Trump spoke for the first time on Wednesday, the value of the dollar dropped more than one percent compared to the euro.

For Forex.com, Matthew Weller informed AFP that the heightened tariffs have negatively impacted the US dollar.

On the day of Trump’s inauguration for his second term, one euro equaled 1.04 dollars.

By 2345 GMT on Wednesday, it was valued at approximately 1.09 dollars.

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, was also impacted by statements from the White House, dropping over three percent on Wednesday night.