Nasdaq Futures Slide After Trump Tariff Threat

Nasdaq futures dropped over 1% as President Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on all countries, sparking fears of global trade retaliation. The Nikkei tumbled 3.8%, its biggest drop in six months, and US Treasury yields fell to 4.21% amid growing recession concerns. Gold surged to a record high on safe-haven demand.

Equities

The FTSE 100 closed flat on Friday but still managed to end the week 0.2% higher, marking a second straight week of modest gains. Investors remained cautious ahead of new US trade tariffs expected on April 2. The FTSE 250 slipped 0.3% on the day but finished the week unchanged after six consecutive weekly losses.

Among individual UK stocks, WH Smith fell 4.7% after agreeing to sell its UK high street retail business to Modella Capital for £76 million. Aerospace and defence stocks were among the sharpest fallers, with Rolls Royce down 1.3%, BAE Systems off 2.5%, and Melrose Industries sliding 4.6%.

These declines followed wider losses in the industrials sector, which reacted to concerns about the impact of upcoming US tariffs. Industrial metal miners also struggled, with the sector down 2.2% as copper prices eased. SSE, by contrast, rose 3.8% after naming Martin Pibworth, a company veteran, as its new CEO. On the data front, UK retail sales surprised to the upside in February, providing a brief lift amid otherwise sluggish economic growth.

In the US, stocks finished the week under pressure as inflation and trade concerns weighed on sentiment. The S&P 500 fell 1.97% on Friday, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.69% to close at 41,583.90. Friday marked a third straight day of losses for all three indices, with the S&P 500 down over 9% from its February peak.

Tech and consumer stocks led the declines, particularly in response to President Trump’s announcement of a 25% tariff on auto imports, with more tariffs due to be unveiled on April 2. Ford and General Motors both fell sharply following the news, with investors concerned about the impact on car prices and earnings.

Forex & Commodities

Gold extended its rally on Monday, reaching a new record high of $3,128.06 per ounce before settling slightly lower at $3,116.82. US gold futures rose 1.1% to $3,148.00. The metal is now up over 18% for the quarter—its strongest performance since 1986—supported by growing demand for safe-haven assets and renewed interest from central banks and ETF investors. Silver rose 0.6% to $34.32 per ounce, platinum climbed 1.1% to $994.60, and palladium gained 0.9% to $980.11, with all three metals on track for monthly gains.

Currency markets saw the yen strengthen further against the dollar, gaining 0.46% to 149.145 after briefly rising as much as 0.74%. The dollar index was down 0.2% at 103.88, with investors reacting to falling US Treasury yields and Friday’s hotter-than-expected US inflation data, which fuelled concern about stagflation. The Swiss franc also rose 0.3% to 0.8775 per dollar. The euro held steady at $1.0833, while sterling edged up 0.22% to $1.2958 following news of productive trade discussions between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Donald Trump. The Australian and New Zealand dollars both weakened modestly.

Oil prices eased despite further geopolitical tensions. Brent crude futures for June delivery slipped 0.4% to $72.46 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 0.5% to $69.03. Front-month Brent was trading at $73.36 ahead of expiry, with both benchmarks heading for a small quarterly loss. Market focus is on OPEC+ production increases beginning in April, potential price cuts from Saudi Arabia for Asian buyers, and Iranian export pricing. Meanwhile, Trump has threatened secondary tariffs of up to 50% on Russian oil buyers and warned of similar measures against Iran.