Global Stock Market Live: Dow futures down 60 points; Chinese state media hints at rate cut

The announcement by US President Donald Trump of a 90-day ‘pause’ for more than 75 countries and an increase in tariffs on China to 125% caused Wall Street indices to crash overnight.

The Nasdaq Composite concluded 12%, or 1,957.06 points, higher at 17,124.97, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended more than 2,900 points higher at 40,608.45, and the S&P 500 closed 9.5% higher at 5,456.9.

China’s ‘lack of respect’ for international markets was the reason Trump imposed a 125% tariff on the nation. China had doubled its retaliatory levies earlier in the day in response to Trump’s tariff hike. China hiked its intended duty on US imports from 34% to 84% after Trump raised his proposed duties on the nation to 104%.

China’s consumer deflation persists as trade war poses new risks. The consumer-price index declined 0.1% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday, compared with a 0.7% drop in the previous month. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was zero.China’s consumer deflation extended for a second month in March, as an escalating trade war with the US threatens to put more downward pressure on prices.