Stocks, oil extend rout as China retaliates over Trump tariffs

LONDON (AFP) - Equities and oil prices extended a global rout for markets on Friday after China hit back over President Donald Trump's tariff blitz with its own mammoth levy on US goods, inflaming global trade war fears.

The dollar was steadier against main rivals having fallen sharply on Thursday on fears of a recession in the United States.

"Sentiment is so fragile right now," Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, told AFP.

"Investors are firmly in the 'get me to cash now' phase, on fears that other nations will follow China's lead, and of course that the US president will respond to China's tariffs with even more charges.

"This trade war is like nothing we've seen for years, perhaps decades," Beauchamp added.

Frankfurt's main DAX index of German blue-chip companies plunged more than five percent moments after the Chinese government said it would slap 34 percent tariffs on all imports of US goods from April 10.

Paris tumbled 4.2 percent and London gave up 3.9 percent in early afternoon deals.

Oil futures plummeted around seven percent, having already plunged some 6.5 percent Thursday on the prospect of weaker demand.

News that OPEC+ had unexpectedly hiked crude supply more than planned added to the steep selling.

The price of traded copper -- a vital component for energy storage, electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines -- tumbled more than five percent.

Beijing on Friday also imposed exports controls on seven rare earth elements, its commerce ministry said, including gadolinium -- commonly used in MRIs -- and yttrium, utilised in consumer electronics.

"Another jolt of fear has shot through markets as China's threat of retaliation has materialised," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"The big concern is that this is a sign of a sharp escalation of the tariff war which will have major implications for the global economy."

China's response came after Trump's harsher-than-expected "Liberation Day" levies sent shockwaves through markets Thursday, with Wall Street suffering its worst day since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for suspending investment in the United States until what he called the "brutal" new tariffs had been "clarified".

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the 24 percent levies his country faced were a "national crisis".

The Tokyo stock market closed with a loss of 2.8 percent, as car giants took the heat once more.

Toyota slid more than four percent while Nissan and Honda each sank more than five percent.

Hanoi's index, which plunged more than seven percent Thursday owing to the near 50 percent US tariff imposed on Vietnam, fell another 4.6 percent.

The selling came after Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged six percent Thursday, the S&P 500 shed 4.8 percent -- its biggest dip in a day since 2020 -- and the Dow retreated four percent.

Investors will be keeping a close eye on US jobs data due Friday for a fresh insight into the state of the world's top economy, while Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell is also lined up to give a speech.