Wall Street stocks opened sharply lower on Monday amid worries that a trade war induced by US President Donald Trump's tariffs will spark a global economic slowdown.

All three major US indices were down more than 3 percent in early trading, reflecting continued angst after Trump's team over the weekend shrugged off the worldwide carnage in markets since his tariff announcement last week.

The S&P 500 was down 3.8 percent in early trading, coming off its worst week since Covid; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,343 points, or 3.5 percent; and the Nasdaq composite was 4.2 percent lower.

All three indices were at more than one-year lows.

Trump remained defiant on Monday. “Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!” he wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Then, within the first hour of trading, stocks were swinging up, then down again.

The Dow briefly erased a loss of 1,700 points, shot up more than 800 points, then went back to a loss of 414 points.

The S&P 500 likewise made sudden up-and-down lurching movements and was down 1.3 percent in the first hour of trading. (Agencies)
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Last updated: 2025-04-07 HKT 22:42