Global financial markets were roiled by Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement – with trillions of dollars knocked off the value of the world’s biggest companies and heightened fears of a US recession.
In the US, the main indices saw their worst one-day falls in five years as the president claimed that “the markets are going to boom” in response to his sweeping tariffs.
The scale of the sell-off highlights just how alarmed investors are by the tariffs, and the fears they could lead to a recession.
Here are the key stories at a glance:
Trump insists ‘it’s going very well’ as markets crash
Despite the worst markets crash in nearly five years, Trump denied the turmoil presented a problem, telling reporters: “I think it’s going very well … We’ve never seen anything like it. The markets are going to boom. The stock is going to boom. The country is going to boom.”
As world leaders reacted to the US president’s “liberation day” tariff policies demolishing the international trading order, about $2.5tn (£1.9tn) was wiped off Wall Street and share prices in other financial centres across the globe.
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US markets see worst day since 2020
Zooming in on US stock market, all three major US funds closed down in their worst day since June 2020, during the Covid pandemic. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 6%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow dropped 4.8% and 3.9%, respectively. Apple and Nvidia, two of the US’s largest companies by market value, had lost a combined $470bn in value by midday.
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Republican Senate rebels decry tariffs as ‘bad policy’
The first signs of an internal US political backlash against Donald Trump’s declaration of a global trade war are starting to emerge amid tanking stock markets worldwide, including on Wall Street, and widespread international criticism of the move.
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Pete Hegseth faces Signal investigation
The Pentagon watchdog is launching an investigation into US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss sensitive information about military operations in Yemen.
The probe follows a bipartisan request from the Senate armed services committee after allegations emerged that highly precise – and most likely classified – intelligence about impending US airstrikes in Yemen, including strike timing and aircraft models, had been shared in a Signal group chat that included a journalist.
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Trump fires staffers after Laura Loomer urges him to
Donald Trump fired six national security council staffers after an unusual meeting in the Oval Office where the far-right activist Laura Loomer presented opposition research against a number of staffers that she said showed they were disloyal to the US president, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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Dr Oz confirmed for Medicare and Medicaid role amid cuts plans
Former heart surgeon and TV pitchman Dr Mehmet Oz was confirmed to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Oz became the agency’s administrator in a party-line 53-45 vote.
The 64-year-old will manage health insurance programs for roughly half the country, with oversight of Medicare, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage. He steps into the new role as Congress is debating cuts to the Medicaid program, which provides coverage to millions of poor and disabled Americans.
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English judge orders Trump to pay more than $800,000 in legal costs
Donald Trump has been ordered by a judge in England to pay more than £620,000 ($820,000) in legal costs after unsuccessfully suing a company over denied allegations he took part in “perverted” sex acts.
The US president brought a data protection claim against Orbis Business Intelligence, a consultancy founded by a former MI6 officer, Christopher Steele, in 2022.
Steele authored a report that included allegations – all denied by Trump – that he had been “compromised” by the Russian Security Service. Mrs Justice Steyn threw out the claim in February last year and told Trump to pay an initial £290,000 in costs. Trump decided not to pay and was now ordered to pay £626,058.98.
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What else happened today:
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Canada will retaliate against Trump’s “unjustified, unwarranted” tariffs with a 25% tax on US vehicles, said prime minister Mark Carney. The taxes will target vehicles that are not compliant with the continental free trade deal.
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The method used to calculate the most important numbers in international trade, politics and economics has left some of the world’s leading experts shocked. Here’s how they were calculated.
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JD Vance said that Elon Musk would remain a “friend and an adviser” to the vice-president and Donald Trump after he leaves his current role with the so-called “department of government efficiency”.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 2 April 2025.
