US stock markets are bracing for deeper losses as futures tied to Wall Street’s key indices extended their slide on Sunday evening, reflecting mounting investor anxiety over the Trump administration’s aggressive tariff stance and lack of clarity on trade policy. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures tumbled by 1,650 points, or 3.8%, while futures linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell over 4.5% each.
The drop signals a possible entry into bear market territory for the S&P 500 during regular Monday trading, joining the Nasdaq and Smallcap Russell 2000 index, which have already shed more than 20% from their respective peaks. Over $5 trillion in investor wealth has been wiped out in the past two sessions, marking the most intense market rout since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bond market showed classic risk-off behavior, with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury falling to 3.901% and the two-year yield hitting its lowest since 2022. Meanwhile, Brent crude prices dropped 3.8% to $63.07 per barrel, and WTI crude fell 4% to $59.52 — both at four-year lows. Gold also saw profit booking as investors liquidated positions for cash, while haven currencies like the Japanese yen and Swiss franc strengthened further.
European markets mirrored the panic. Germany’s DAX plunged 7.1%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 6.1%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 lost 5.1%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index declined 6% in morning trading, with shares of Rheinmetall and Sandoz Group plunging 17.5% and 15.7%, respectively.
In Asia, markets closed sharply lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 7.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped a staggering 12.6%, and China’s Shanghai Composite slid 7.3%.
The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index also edged down by 0.3% to 98.85, and natural gas prices in Europe, tracked by the Dutch TTF futures, declined 5.9% to €34.25 per megawatt-hour.
With U.S. President Donald Trump standing firm on his tariff agenda and downplaying market losses as a “necessary medicine,” investors are left grappling with deepening uncertainty as fears of a global recession continue to mount.
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