US stock market closes higher than expected but volatility ahead as Trump unleashes reciprocal tariffs

Wall Street stocks finished higher Wednesday following a volatile session ahead of US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcements, while European stocks ended the day lower.

After initially retreating ahead of Trump’s “Liberation Day” of new trade levies, US indices forged higher during the session amid hopes that markets have oversold in anticipation of the plan.

But more ups and downs appeared to lie ahead, with US futures moving decisively lower late Wednesday afternoon as Trump announced the plan.

The dollar also retreated against other major currencies, while safe haven gold jumped.

“For traders and investors, today represents a day of huge uncertainty as we weigh up the potential for retaliatory tariffs and a tit-for-tat trade war,” said Joshua Mahony, analyst at traders Scope Markets.

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Global equities have been hit hard leading up to Trump’s announcement, with allies and competitors alike in the crosshairs after what he says is years of “ripping off” the United States.

Against a White House backdrop of US flags, Trump reiterated that message, saying “for decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike.”

Trump reserved some of the heaviest blows for what he called the “nations that treat us badly,” including 34 percent in new levies on rival China, 20 percent on key ally the European Union and 24 percent on Japan.

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A number of other countries will face specifically tailored tariff levels, and for the rest, Trump said he would impose a “baseline” tariff of 10 percent.

The US leader also reiterated a plan to enact auto tariffs of 25 percent to begin on Thursday.

Global stock markets were mixed ahead of Wednesday’s announcement.

After Tokyo’s stock market closed up slightly and Chinese indices steadied, European equity markets dropped, led lower by Frankfurt.

There had been some hope among investors that Trump’s announcement might at least address the uncertainty that was roiling the markets. Investors will now prepare for potential counteractions from US trading partners.

Economists have warned that economic growth could take a hit and inflation reignite, dealing a blow to hopes that central banks would continue cutting interest rates.

Among individual companies, Tesla jumped 4.7 percent following a report that chief executive Elon Musk would soon exit or significantly scale back his controversial work for Trump to shrink the US government.

Prior to the report, shares in the electric vehicle manufacturer had fallen following weak first-quarter auto sales.

However, Tesla futures were down 5.6 percent in after-hours trading, joining a broad pullback in US futures.

Key figures around 2050 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 42,225.32 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 5,670.97 (close)

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 17,601.05 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,608.48 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,858.83 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 22,390.84 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 35,725.87 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 23,202.53 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,350.13 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0814 from $1.0793 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2985 from $1.2923

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.39 yen from 149.61 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.33 pence from 83.51 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $71.71 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $74.95 per barrel