(Reuters) – U.S. stock futures opened sharply lower late on Sunday, suggesting a continuation of the two-day selloff that wiped trillions from equity values after the Trump administration’s tariffs announcement last week.
COMMENTS:
ROBERT PAVLIK, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, DAKOTA WEALTH, FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT:
“Futures are down 4%. I don’t see much of a change happening overnight. One of the problems is that people were looking for some kind of comment over the weekend from somebody in the administration that would indicate some possible negotiation or maybe a change in the tariffs. But they seemed to dig in their heels so we’re down more than 4%.”
    “Some of it might be jockeying because of margin calls or people trying to get ahead of margin calls, or pre-positioning or selling into the news for what they think is going to happen tomorrow morning. With Friday being such a big down day, you’d imagine somebody’s getting a margin call somewhere.”
“People are real nervous about the uncertainty this brings, the potential decline in earnings the fact the Federal Reserve has said they are going to wait and stay on hold until they get more clarity. If the Fed isn’t coming to the rescue, then who else is going to come to the rescue?”
   “People are afraid the worst is yet to come. They’re worried about a market crash. They’re worried about what follows, a recession here domestically and then globally, leading to a possible depression.”
ANGELO KOURKAFAS, SENIOR INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, EDWARD JONES, ST LOUIS:
“Fear is what continues to drive market action since the April 2nd tariff announcement. I think many investors are fearing the worst-case scenario of a prolonged trade war.”
   “Until we get an off-ramp and some indication that we potentially are pivoting to cutting deals to lower tariffs, that sentiment will remain fragile.”
DAVID SEIF, CHIEF ECONOMIST FOR DEVELOPED MARKETS, NOMURA, NEW YORK:
“In market selloffs like this, panic and forced selling via margin calls can dominate for a while. That’s not to say that it isn’t based on a very real negative event, which is these tariffs. But I think the ensuing selloff can take on a life of its own. It wouldn’t surprise me if the downtrend lasts all week or longer, but neither would it shock me if the market finds stability sooner than that. Bottom line, I’m not sure when stocks will find a bottom, but I don’t think stocks are returning to their pre-April 2 levels anytime soon.”
MICHAEL BROWN, SENIOR RESEARCH STRATEGIST, PEPPERSTONE, LONDON:
   “The reaction has been very much in line with expectations really, especially with the weekend having seen key administration figures double-down on their recent rhetoric despite last week’s equity declines. In light of that, and no comments from Trump himself, it’s no real surprise to see stocks tumble as de-risking continues, and participants hedge the growing risk of recession.”
   “You can’t rule out a short-term bounce at some stage, simply considering how far we’ve come in a short space of time, but a more durable rebound is going to need some kind of policy pivot. That seemingly won’t be coming from the Fed yet, with Powell signaling no need to hurry on Friday and upside inflation risks mounting, nor is it likely to come from Trump less than a week after unveiling his flagship policies.”
   “Hence, risk aversion should persist for now and another choppy week of headline-watching surely awaits.”
(Reporting by the finance and markets team)
