Global stock markets took a hit Friday in reaction to US President Donald Trumps new tariff rates on some 70 countries. The tariff deadline has been postponed several times but is currently set to kick in a week from now, on August 7.
Stock marketsslid but the dollar held up Friday as US PresidentDonald Trumpannouncedtariffson dozens of trading partners, offsetting strong earnings from tech giants.
With hours to go before Trump's August 1 deadline for governments to make toll-averting deals, the president unveiled a list of sweeping levies.
Read moreUS President Donald Trump hits dozens of countries with steep duties
Shares in European pharmaceutical firms meanwhile slumped following the president's threat to punish them if they did not lower prices for medicines in the United States.
"Tariffs are the main theme sucking risk sentiment from financial markets," noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group.
"The other market-moving event today will be US payrolls (jobs) data.
"Analysts have been fairly downbeat on this report, which could puncture the narrative that theUS economyis resilient in the face of tariff threats," she added.
Governments around the world have been scrambling to cut agreements with theWhite Housesince Trump unveiled his bombshell "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2.
He has delayed implementation of the tariffs several times -- the latest move pushing them back by a week to August 7.
Some countries have reached deals with the United States -- including Japan, the European Union, Britain and South Korea.
Chinaremains in talks with Washington to extend a fragile truce in place since May.
For those in the crosshairs of the latest outburst, tariff rates range from 10 percent to 41 percent.
Trump unveiled new levies Thursday on nearly 70 countries -- including a blistering 35-percent rate on Canada -- as he seeks to reshape global trade to benefit the US economy.
The Swiss government on Friday said it would negotiate with the United States to try to avoid the 39-percent tariff that would ravage its key pharmaceutical industry.
The Swiss franc retreated around half a percent against the dollar Friday.
Tariffs uncertainty overshadowed earnings from major tech titans this week that sawAppleon Thursday post double-digit quarterly revenue growth that beat expectations.
Amazon said quarterly profits jumped 35 percent as key major investments in AI technology paid off, though its outlook for the next three months disappointed.
Google,MicrosoftandMetahave also posted bumper results in recent days.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Originally published on France24
