Trump Tariff Threats on EU, Apple, Send US Futures and Global Markets Skidding

U.S. futures and global markets slumped Friday after President Donald Trump posted a pair of tariff threats on social media, one aimed at Apple and the other at the European Union.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.5% and Nasdaq futures tumbled 1.7% before the bell. Oil prices fell and Treasury yields sank.

Markets took a sharp turn downward after Trump posted on social media that he wants “a straight 50% Tariff” on the EU beginning June 1 because representatives of the bloc have been difficult in negotiations.

European markets fell nearly immediately after Trump’s post on his own Truth Social site. Germany’s DAX quickly swung to a 1.9% loss, while the CAC 40 in Paris fell 2.4%. London’s FTSE 100 shed 1.1%.

Trump has dialed back or paused many of his tariff threats in recent weeks, bringing some peace to markets which had been swinging wildly in both directions for weeks as Trump fired off tariff threats.

Shares of Apple were down 3.8% in morning trading after Trump threatened to put a 25% tariff on Apple products unless the company moves its iPhone manufacturing to the United States.

The threat delivered over social media could dramatically increase the price of iPhones, potentially hurting sales and the profits of one of America’s leading technology companies.

Ross Stores tumbled 13% after it issued lower guidance than Wall Street was hoping for. The company, like many others have done recently, pulled its full-year guidance over broader economic uncertainty related to Trump’s tariffs.

Shoemaker Deckers Brands, the owner of Hoka and Ugg, slid 19%, even after the company posted record sales and profit that easily beat Wall Street expectations. Decker also pulled its full year guidance, specifically citing the uncertainty over U.S. trade policy.

U.S. Treasury yields tumbled after jumping earlier in the week over concerns about mounting U.S. government debt.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.48% while the two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for action by the Federal Reserve, slipped to 3.92%.

Treasury yields had spiked earlier in the week as details of the Republican-backed spending bill came out. The bill, passed overnight in the House of Representatives on Thursday, would cut taxes and could add trillions of dollars to the U.S. debt.

The House’s multitrillion-dollar spending bill, which aims to extend some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks from Trump’s first term while adding others, is expected to be amended when it gets to the Senate for a vote.

Oil prices tumbled for the fourth day in a row.

U.S. benchmark crude oil tumbled $1.07, or 1.3%, to $60.13 per barrel while Brent crude, the international standard, fell 99 cents to $63.45 per barrel.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% to 37,160.47 after the government reported a core inflation rate of 3.5% in April, the highest since early 2023. Core inflation excludes volatile food and energy prices.

The surge in prices has increased the likelihood that the Bank of Japan might raise its benchmark interest rate at its next policy meeting, analysts said.

But uncertainty over Trump’s tariff hikes will limit what the BOJ can do, given recent signs of weakness in the economy, Min Joo Kang of ING Economics said in a report.

He added that “with US tariffs likely to impact manufacturing and exports negatively throughout this year, the BOJ’s policy changes are likely to be gradual.”

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng picked up 0.2% to 23,601.26, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.9% to 3,348.37.

Seoul’s Kospi retreated 0.1% to 2,592.09 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.2% to 8,360.90.