Investors See Hope Amid Carnage Despite China Threats

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

NEW YORK/BEIJING/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Stock futures rose in after-hours trading Monday with investors preparing to pick up cheap shares after the carnage linked to the tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

Contracts tied to the Dow industrials, the S&P 500, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 indexes in New York gained more than 1 percent. It came despite China threatening to retaliate against the U.S. if President Trump raises the tariff on Chinese goods by an additional 50 percent.

In Asia, where many economies are highly trade-reliant, Japanese stocks rose more than 5 percent after a widespread selloff on Monday.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index sank 4.5 percent, while Bitcoin and oil prices also fell.

Yet the sudden rise in at least some stocks suggested investors were prepared to move in to pick up more affordable stocks despite Beijing threatening to target the U.S. with more tariffs.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, said it was furious that President Trump may carry out his threat to raise the tariff on Chinese goods by an additional 50 percent.

CHINA COUNTERMEASSURES

On Tuesday, a statement from the Ministry of Commerce said that if the U.S. escalates tariffs, “China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests.”

Previously, China announced a blanket 34 percent tariff on American goods, matching the level of Trump’s April 2 tariff on Chinese imports.

“The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which once again exposes the U.S.’s blackmail nature,” the commerce ministry added. “If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end.”

Yet in Washington, a defiant Trump said he would not remove his tariffs on Chinese goods.

In a message on his Truth Social media platform, Trump warned that “any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set.”

He added, “Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34 percent increase above their already long-term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50 percent effective April 9th.”

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