Wall Street began the stock trading day with a mixed bag hours after President Donald Trump‘s sweeping tariffs went into effect and China stood firm on retaliatory tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down more than 200 points Wednesday morning but then recovered by 300 points, while the S&P 500 dropped 20 points after open and then saw some recovery. The Nasdaq Composite was up roughly 40 points early in the trading day.
CHINA SLAPS US WITH 84% RETALIATORY TARIFFS
The markets opened hours after the higher tariff rates on imports from dozens of countries went into effect shortly after midnight, including 104% tariffs on China. The implementation of the higher tax on imports comes after the Trump administration implemented blanket 10% tariffs on Saturday.
The Chinese government retaliated Wednesday against the U.S. tariffs by imposing an 84% tax on U.S. imports. Its State Council Tariff Commission said the Trump administration measures are “severely infringing upon China’s legitimate rights and interests.”
Seven minutes after the markets opened, President Donald Trump encouraged investors, posting on Truth Social, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”
Despite the tariff news, several major U.S. companies started the trading day Wednesday up. Nike started up roughly 1%, Apple rose roughly 1.6%, and Amazon was up nearly 0.5%.
International markets reacted poorly to the latest tariff news. On Wednesday morning, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 3.9%, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 3%, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell nearly 1.7%, and Germany’s DAX index fell more than 3%.
CLOCK STRIKES MIDNIGHT: TRUMP’S ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS TAKE EFFECT
The Trump administration has opened talks with various countries on trade, including the tariffs, and has warned countries not to retaliate in the interim. Most countries have opted not to retaliate, with the exception of China.
The markets have largely been in the red since Trump unveiled his sweeping tariff policy at a White House event last Wednesday. While the stock sell-off has cooled since last week, markets largely closed down on Monday and Tuesday.
