As global markets continue to tumble in the wake of upcoming tariffs announced April 2 by the Trump administration, folks on Wall Street are watching the economy’s reaction in real time.
“Every country’s called us” to negotiate, President Donald Trump told a press pool following the announcement. “That’s the beauty of what we do. We put ourselves in the driver’s seat.”
New York City resident Chad R. McDonald couldn’t say whether or not the fallout would result in “immediate,” “short-term” or “long-term” pain.
“Nobody can really say,” McDonald told reporters.
The stock market saw its worst day since March 2020 on Thursday, the day after Trump announced the global tariffs rollout.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid nearly 2.92% Friday morning, and the S&P Global 500 dipped 2.86%. NASDAQ was pushed into a bear market after tumbling 3.32%, according to a report from USA TODAY.
“Tariffs are estimated to cost Americans upwards of $6,500, 401Ks are plummeting,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a news release April 2. “Don’t be fooled, this so-called ‘Liberation Day’ is nothing but a reckless tax on hard-working New Yorkers that is hurting small businesses, driving up costs for families and alienating our long-standing global partnerships. This is not how you grow an economy, it’s how you tank one.”
Sam Moser of Fort Worth, Texas, said he thought the tariffs were “the right move.”
“The stock exchange didn’t expect the tariffs to be quite so arduous,” Moser said, noting that it was thought percentages would be lower. Still, Moser seemed optimistic.
“These countries can’t afford to be out of business with the United States for very long,” he said.
China reacted swiftly with an announcement Friday that it would impose a 34% tax on U.S. products, a direct response to Trump’s levy on Chinese goods coming into the United States.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at 11:25 a.m. about the economy.
How to watch: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech Friday, April 4, at 11:25 a.m.
Powell’s comments are expected to add to the growing sentiment that the economy could be pulled into conflicting directions within the coming months, Reuters reported, with “steep tariffs driving prices higher even as fading confidence and price shocks drive growth and consumption lower.”
Nick Burkle, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said new numbers coming out after the tariffs announcement “were a concern.”
“The quicker (the White House) can resolve the negotiation, finalize numbers and the world can respond, the markets respond,” Burkle explained.
Contributing: USA TODAY, Reuters
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: How are folks on Wall Street reacting to Trump’s tariffs? Uncertainty, cautious optimism
Reporting by Ashley Catherine Fontones, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
