Wall Street stocks sank again Tuesday while US oil prices hit a multi-year low as worries about President Donald Trump’s escalating trade wars erased rebound hopes following gains in Europe and Asia.After trillions of dollars were wiped from the combined value of global equity markets since last week, share prices across the globe clawed back some ground as investors assessed the possibility of Washington tempering some of the levies.Following winning sessions in Europe and Asia, US indices opened buoyantly as traders embraced talk of White House negotiations with Japan and South Korea in hopes that Trump’s trade onslaught might be short-lived.But investors grew edgy as the day progressed with no concrete progress and the White House confirmed plans for massive tariffs on China to go into effect overnight.”Obviously investors are clamoring for clarity and there still isn’t any,” said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital, who estimated that the market now sees a greater than 50 percent chance of a US recession.The S&P 500 tumbled into the red in the early afternoon, with losses accelerating in the final 90 minutes of trading. The broad-based index finished down 1.6 percent at 4,982.77, its first close below 5,000 points in nearly a year.Oil prices also tumbled on the weakening economic outlook. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark futures contract, finished under $60 a barrel for the first time since April 2021.Stocks have been in free fall since Trump’s “Liberation Day” event announcing tariffs on major US trading partners last Wednesday.White House officials have signaled openness to dealmaking while blasting China for enacting sharp retaliatory tariffs in response to the new US levies.Trump plans to impose another 50 percent duty on Chinese goods at midnight, bringing the additional rate on Chinese products to 104 percent.European officials, meanwhile, plan tariffs of up to 25 percent on US goods in retaliation for levies on metals, but will spare bourbon to shield European wine and spirits from reprisals, according to a document seen by AFP.The list proposes levies on goods including soybeans, poultry, rice, sweetcorn, fruit and nuts, wood, motorcycles, plastics, textiles, paintings, electrical equipment, make-up and other beauty products.An EU spokesman said on Tuesday that the European Commission could present its planned countermeasures to the new levies “as early as next week”.- Rebound in Asia -Earlier Tokyo’s stock market closed up more than six percent — recovering much of Monday’s drop — after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held talks with Trump.Hong Kong’s stock market closed up by more than one percent, having plunged more than 13 percent on Monday, its biggest one-day retreat since 1997.”After multiple punishing sessions, stock markets appear to have started their road to recovery,” noted Russ Mould, investment director at the AJ Bell trading group.He warned, however, that “it’s dangerous to think a massive rally will definitely happen, given how Trump is unpredictable”.- Key figures around 2130 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 37,645.59 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 1.6 percent at 4,982.77 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 2.2 percent at 15,267.91 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 2.7 percent at 7,910.53 (close)  Paris – CAC 40: UP 2.5 percent at 7,100.42 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 2.5 percent at 20,280.26 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 6.0 percent at 33,012.58 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5 percent at 20,127.68 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.6 percent at 3,145.55 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0959 from $1.0912 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2766 from $1.2887Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.23 yen from 146.84 yen Euro/pound: UP at 85.78 pence from 85.70 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.9 percent at $59.58 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.2 percent at $62.82 per barrelburs-jmb/dw

The United States and China hurtled towards an all-out trade war Tuesday, locked in a high stakes game of brinkmanship as President Donald Trump prepared to unleash a new wave of tariffs against dozens of partners.The global economy has been rocked since sweeping 10 percent US tariffs took effect over the weekend, triggering a dramatic market sell-off worldwide and sparking recession fears.Rates on imports to the United States from dozens of economies are set to rise further at 12.01 am (0401 GMT) Wednesday, and this will see tariffs imposed on Chinese products since Trump returned to the White House reach a staggering 104 percent.The new tariffs come after Beijing’s pushback against Trump, who remained defiant despite major US indexes tumbling again Tuesday.The US president believes his policy will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.But many business experts and economists question how quickly — if ever — this can take place, warning of higher inflation as the tariffs raise prices.Trump said Tuesday the United States was “taking in almost $2 billion a day” from tariffs.He originally unveiled a 34 percent additional tariff on Chinese goods. But after China unveiled its own 34 percent counter tariff on American products, he vowed to pile on another 50 percent duty.Counting existing levies imposed in February and March, that would take the cumulative tariff increase for Chinese goods during Trump’s second presidency to 104 percent.Beijing blasted what it called US blackmail and vowed to “fight it to the end.”Trump insisted the ball was in China’s court because Beijing “wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started.”Separately, Canada said that its tariffs on certain US auto imports will come into force Wednesday.- China ‘confident’ -In the war of words between the world’s two biggest economies, China also condemned remarks by US Vice President JD Vance in which he said the United States had for too long borrowed money from “Chinese peasants.”The European Union sought to cool tensions, with the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen warning against worsening the trade conflict in a call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.She stressed stability for the world’s economy, alongside “the need to avoid further escalation,” said an EU readout.The Chinese premier told von der Leyen that his country could weather the storm, saying it “is fully confident of maintaining sustained and healthy economic development.”China’s offshore yuan fell to an all-time low against the US dollar Tuesday, while oil prices slumped with the West Texas Intermediate closing below $60 for the first time since April 2021.The EU — which Trump has criticized bitterly over its tariff regime — may unveil its response next week to new 20 percent levies it faces.French President Emmanuel Macron called on Trump to reconsider, adding if the EU was forced to respond “so be it.”In retaliation against US steel and aluminum levies that took effect last month, the EU plans tariffs of up to 25 percent on American goods ranging from soybeans to motorcycles, according to a document seen by AFP.- ‘Tailored deals’ -Trump said Tuesday his government was working on “tailored deals” with trading partners, with the White House saying it would prioritize allies like Japan and South Korea.His top trade official Jamieson Greer told the Senate that Argentina, Vietnam and Israel were among those who had offered to reduce their tariffs.Wall Street’s major indices closed lower Tuesday, with the broad-based S&P 500 falling 1.6 percent.Europe’s main indices finished with gains however, and Asia’s leading indices rose after heavy falls Monday.In one public sign of friction over tariffs, key Trump ally Elon Musk described senior White House trade advisor Peter Navarro as “dumber than a sack of bricks.”Musk, who has signaled his opposition to Trump’s trade policy, hit out after Navarro described his Tesla company as “a car assembler” that wants cheap foreign parts.Trump has ruled out any pause in his aggressive stance, despite China’s retaliation and growing domestic criticism.burs-bys/bgs