
Morning Watchlist: China Doubles Down With Additional 84% Tariffs
U.S. stock futures are lower in choppy trade after China announced additional 84% Tariffs On U.S. Goods From April 10th this morning. The moves come after another day of significant turmoil as U.S. President Donald Trump implemented unprecedented trade tariffs, the highest in a century, intensifying tensions with China. The tariffs, which sparked a four-day stock market rout, heightened investor anxiety, leading to volatile trading sessions with the VIX closing at 5-year highs yesterday.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 briefly surged over 4% but closed down 1.6% and now sits nearly 19% below its all-time high, underscoring the escalating economic fallout from the tariff hikes. Customs are expected to start collecting new tariffs on imports from 86 nations on Wednesday. A total tariff rate of 104% on Chinese imports went into effect overnight, after China retaliated with 34% tariffs on U.S. imports on Friday, with the two countries now embroiled in a full-blown trade war.
Snapshot (as of 7 AM ET)
- Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are down over 6% near $56 a barrel and fell for a fifth straight day to their lowest level in 4 years after U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs took effect, including a 104% duty on Chinese goods, intensifying a global trade war. API reports that crude inventories fell 1.057M barrels last week. Gasoline inventories rose 207,000 barrels.
- Gold (/GC) – Gold prices are up over 3% near $3080 as the dollar weakened and as investors braced for U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs to take effect, with most flocking to safe-haven gold for cover as global trade tensions escalate and fears of a recession mount.
- Bitcoin (/BTC) – The crypto future is down 1% near 76K in the premarket. Bitcoin is near 5-month lows from the overnight session.
- VIX – The CBOE Volatility Index has surged again, nearly to 58.
- U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is down 0.5% to near 102.
Biggest Premarket Movers (Mark % Change as of 7 AM ET)
- Newmont (NEM): +2.65%
- Pfizer (PFE): -4.62%
- APA Corp. (APA): -4.13%
- Abbvie (ABBV): -4.06%
Economic Data
- 7:00AM ET: MBA Mortgage Applications
- 10:00AM ET: Wholesale Inventories
- 10:30AM ET: Oil Inventories
- 12:30PM ET: Fed’s Barkin Speaks
- 1:00PM ET: 10-Year Note Auction
- 2:00PM ET: FOMC Minutes
Notable Earnings
- Premarket: DAL, SMPL
- Postmarket: STZ, PSMT
- Premarket Tomorrow: KMX, LOVE
- Postmarket Tomorrow: None
Upgrades/Downgrades
- Jefferies upgrades Apple (AAPL) & Starbucks (SBUX) to Hold from Underperform
- Goldman Sachs upgrades Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to Buy from Neutral
- Piper Sandler upgrades Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP) to Overweight from Neutral
- Bernstein downgrades Ford (F) to Underperform from Market Perform
- Jefferies downgrades Host Hotels (HST), Park Hotels & Resorts (PK), and Xenia Hotels (XHR) to Hold from Buy