U.S. stock futures were hit once again on Monday as the White House remained defiant after President Donald Trump’s rollout of shockingly high tariff rates on most key U.S. trading partners has sparked a three-day market meltdown. S&P 500 futures shed 2.8% with the benchmark nearing bear mark et territory when official trading begins. It closed Friday down 17.4% from its closing record touched in February. Dow Jones Industrial average futures fell 1,000 points, or 2.6%. Nasdaq-100 futures lost 2.9% as investors continued to shed their one-time tech winners to raise cash. This follows a market wipeout to end last week: The Dow posted back-to-back losses of more than 1,500 points for the first time ever, including a 2,231-point shellacking on Friday. The S&P 500 dropped 6% on Friday for its worst performance since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020. The benchmark lost 10% in two days. The Nasdaq Composite entered a bear market Friday — down 22% from its record — after losses on Thursday and Friday of nearly 6% apiece. Trump’s initial unilateral 10% tariff went into effect Saturday. Investors were hoping for news over the weekend that the Trump administration was having successful negotiations with countries to lower the tariff rates, or at the very least, was considering delaying the set of so-called reciprocal tariffs due to take effect April 9. Instead the president and his key advisors played down the sell-off: Trump said Sunday evening on the market sell-off: “I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” Trump added, “We have a trillion-dollar trade deficit with China, hundreds of billions of dollars a year we lose with China. And unless we solve that problem, I’m not going to make a deal.” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS News that the tariffs would not be postponed. “The tariffs are coming… They are definitely going to stay in place for days and weeks.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted to NBC News that more than 50 countries have approached the administration for negotiations, but cautioned “they’ve been bad actors for a long time, and it’s not the kind of thing you can negotiate away in days or weeks.” Investors were surprised first by the magnitude of certain rates applied to trading partners that appeared to be based on a formula without a valid rationale based on established economic theory. They were rattled further when China on Friday decided to retaliate with a 34% tariff on all U.S. imports, instead of negotiating first. “The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe…this is not what we voted for,” wrote Bill Ackman, billionaire head of Pershing Square, on X. “The President has an opportunity on Monday to call a time out and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system. Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down.” While the administration said at least 50 nations had reached out to start negotiations, Canada and the European Union were planning to follow China’s lead and readying retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. Vietnam has offered already to cut tariffs on the U.S. to zero, according to Trump, but trade advisor Peter Navarro told CNBC on Monday that wasn’t enough and that it was the non-tariff cheating that matters. This suggests negotiations could be drawn out longer than Wall Street would like. Fears grew on Wall Street that the sell-off would feed on itself with hedge funds forced to sell down equities and other risky assets to raise cash needed meet margin calls. The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s fear gauge, surged to the 50 level early Monday, an extreme level seen mostly only during bear markets. “Margin calls are going out as we speak,” said Chris Rupkey chief economist at FWDBONDS. “For a third straight day investors in U.S. equity markets have turned (a) huge thumbs down on the White House Liberation Day tariffs which have rocked Wall Street.” The contagion spread to other assets and around the globe. The price of bitcoin, tumbled below $77,000. U.S. crude oil dropped below $60 a barrel to a multiyear low. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 13% for its biggest decline since 1997. Germany’s DAX Index lost as much as 10% during Monday’s session. Tesla led the losses in premarket trading, down 6%. Caterpillar, a big seller of construction equipment around the world, fell 5% early Monday. Apple shares lost 4%. S&P 500 losses approaching Great Depression record If the S&P 500 ends at least 4% Monday — which would mark its third straight day of a losses of 4% or greater — this would mark the first time since the Great Depression in 1933 it has notched such large back-to-back consecutive losses, according to the Carson Group’s Ryan Detrick. This would also be only the third time in history the broad market index has finished 4% or lower for three straight days, all of which were during the Great Depression. — Hakyung Kim, Adrian van Hauwermeiren See the stocks moving before the bell These are some of the stocks making notable moves in Monday’s premarket: Tesla — Stock in the electric vehicle company sank nearly 7% amid the broader market wreckage. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a notorious Tesla bull, cut his price target on the stock, saying it has “self created brand issues.”Caterpillar — The blue-chip name fell more than 4%, one of several machinery stocks struggling following UBS downgrades. UBS said machinery demand could take a hit if President Donald Trump’s tariffs catalyze a global trade war and higher prices.Dollar Tree — The value-focused retailer was able to side step the premarket carnage, rising more than 1% on the back of Citi’s upgrade to buy from neutral. Citi said Dollar Tree is a “dark horse winner” in a global trade war. Click here for the full list. — Alex Harring Dollar continues to weaken The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, inched down 0.1% Monday morning. It has weakened 1.2% in April after President Donald Trump’s retaliatory tariffs rollout amid rising uncertainty surrounding the U.S. economy. The euro appreciated around 0.8% against the dollar Monday, bringing it 1.4% higher versus the greenback for the month. Although it is normally viewed as less of a safe-haven currency than the dollar, prospects of increased government spending in the Euro area and a potential peace deal in Ukraine have boosted the currency. — Hakyung Kim Sharp drop in oil prices is historically a recession event, Morgan Stanley says The sharp drop in oil prices last week was of a magnitude that is rarely seen outside of recessions, according to Morgan Stanley equity analyst and commodities strategist Martijn Rats. “The Brent futures contract was first traded on 5 June 1988. Over the 9,675 trading days since then, two-day declines of 12.5% or larger happened only 24 times before. Of those, 22 are associated with recessions,” Rats said in a note to clients Monday. The two times that were not associated with recession were in 2003 after the U.S. invasion of Iraq and in 2022, when oil prices were coming off of a much higher starting level, the note said. . Brent futures were down another 2.5% on Monday, trading just under $64 per barrel. — Jesse Pound Citi upgrades Dollar General to neutral on limited tariff risks Citi sees a more balanced risk/reward payoff for Dollar General going forward. In a Monday note, the bank upgraded shares of the discount retailer to a neutral rating from sell. Simultaneously, analyst Paul Lejuez hiked his target price for the stock to $101 from $69. Alongside fellow off-price retailer Dollar Tree, Lejuez believes that Dollar General will be relatively insulated from the mounting global trade war. “In the near-term DG does not have the same tariff risk as most others in our retail universe, and may benefit from consumers trading down (given its mindshare for value),” he wrote. “Taking a 12-month view, we no longer believe a Sell rating is warranted, as consumables-based businesses are likely to fare better than those selling more discretionary products.” Lejuez added that only around 10% of Dollar General’s products will likely be affected by tariffs, compared to between 50% to 100% for its competitors. That’s partially because most of what Dollar General sells belong to the food or consumables categories. Shares of Dollar General have rallied 22% so far this year. — Lisa Kailai Han Short term bounce ahead, but ‘this isn’t over yet,’ says HSBC The market has entered oversold territory after last week’s steep selloff, according to HSBC chief multi-asset strategist Max Kettner. “So we can make a case for a ‘Turnaround-Tuesday’-style, very short-term bounce. We’d argue it’s particularly the Mag 7 that would benefit from this the most,” Kettner wrote in a note on Monday. However, Kettner added that ongoing tariff uncertainty means “this isn’t over yet.” “The one thing about which we’ve been wrestling with ourselves in recent days is whether we’re actually bearish enough,” said Kettner. He added that large cap tech is still the preferred equity position during another leg lower. “In fact, preferring US tech over US small caps should benefit in both a rebound and a further correction, given the latter is much more challenged from a profitability perspective,” Kettner said. — Hakyung Kim Tesla tumbles 4% premarket Tesla shares slid 4.4% Monday morning amid an ongoing broader market meltdown over tariff concerns. The electric vehicle stock has shed 7.6% in April alone, and more than 40% in 2025, as CEO Elon Musk’s political activities have raised controversies and incited boycotts and protests globally. Along with other automakers, Tesla’s supply chain also faces headwinds from the new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives downgraded shares, citing the brand crisis and trade war pressure. “The economic tariff Armageddon unleashed by the Trump Administration is a double whammy for Tesla in our view,” Ives wrote. — Hakyung Kim Raymond James upgrades Jetblue to outperform on low risk of bankruptcy Raymond James sees a better outlook ahead for shares of Jetblue Airways. In a Monday note, analyst Savanthi Syth upgraded the airline stock to an outperform rating from market perform. Syth’s $5 price target implies that shares of Jetblue could rise 27% from their Friday close of $3.94. Shares of Jetblue have plunged 50% this year. The stock fell more than 25% in a single day in January for its biggest daily loss ever, after Jetblue guided for a disappointing financial outlook. But going forward, Syth is more optimistic for the company’s future. “We are tactically upgrading JBLU from Market Perform to Outperform following the recent selloff (alongside the market in response to reciprocal tariff announcements) given our view of low bankruptcy risk and an M&A floor, especially against a backdrop of negative buy-side and sell-side sentiment,” the analyst wrote. “Importantly, we are not aware of M&A discussions, but believe JetBlue’s assets (notably at JFK/FLL and the fleet order book) make it an attractive target.” — Lisa Kailai Han Baird downgrades Starbucks to neutral but emphasizes bullish long-term view Baird is moving to the sidelines when it comes to Starbucks. In a Sunday note, analyst David Tarantino downgraded the coffee chain to a neutral rating. He accompanied the move by slashing his price target for the stock to $85 from $114. Shares of Starbucks are down 10% this year. Tarantino’s updated forecast implies that the stock could rise less than 4% from here. While the analyst is bullish on Starbucks over the long run, he pointed to increasing odds of an economic slowdown as a catalyst for his downgrade. “We remain highly confident that turnaround efforts under CEO Brian Niccol eventually will prove successful (leading to bullish longer-term setup), but simply are concerned that macro headwinds could prove to be an offset in the near term, creating risk to F2025-2026E EPS estimates and investor sentiment,” he wrote. “Importantly, we still have a favorable view of the long-term growth fundamentals for SBUX, and as a result, we continue to view the stock as a core holding for large-cap growth investors that can look through possible short-term noise.” — Lisa Kailai Han Trump wants Fed rate cuts, says there is ‘no inflation’ President Donald Trump again called for the Federal Reserve to lower rates, insisting Monday that inflation has disappeared as his aggressive reciprocal tariffs are set to take effect. “Oil prices are down, interest rates are down (the slow moving Fed should cut rates!), food prices are down, there is NO INFLATION, and the long time abused USA is bringing in Billions of Dollars a week from the abusing countries on Tariffs that are already in place,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Along with his hectoring of the central bank, the president chastised China for its retaliatory move last week to add 34% on its tariffs of U.S. goods. “They’ve made enough, for decades, taking advantage of the Good OL’ USA! Our past ‘leaders’ are to blame for allowing this, and so much else, to happen to our Country,” Trump added. —Jeff Cox Wall Street’s fear gauge skyrockets Early Monday, the CBOE Market Volatility Index, otherwise known as ‘The VIX,’ was surging, with it touching 60 at one point. Wall Street’s fear gauge, which is based on the prices of put and call options on the S&P 500, was showing extreme levels of fear. During the March 2020 Covid market plunge, the VIX traded in the 60-to-80 range before the stock market rebounded. -John Melloy Hong Kong stocks lead sell-off in Asia-Pacific markets as trade war worries fuel risk-off sentiment Asia-Pacific markets extended their sell-off Monday as fears over a global trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs fueled a risk-off mood. Hong Kong markets led losses in the region, with the Hang Seng Index declining 13.22% to 19,828.30 while the Hang Seng Tech index plunged 17.16% to 4,401.51. Mainland China’s CSI 300 plummeted 7.05% to 3,589.44, making this its largest one-day drop since last October. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 7.83% to hit an 18-month low at 31,136.58,while the broader Topix index plummeted 7.79% to 2,288.66. Earlier in the day, trading in Japanese futures was suspended due the market hitting circuit breakers. In South Korea, the Kospi index plunged 5.57% to 2,328.20, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 5.25% to 651.30. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 4.23%, to end the day at 7,343,30. The benchmark slid into correction territory with an 11% decline since its last high in February, in its previous session. India’s benchmark Nifty 50 dropped 4.08% while the broader BSE Sensex lost 3.91% as at 1.50 p.m. local time. — Amala Balakrishner European markets tank at the open European stocks dropped sharply after Monday’s opening bell, as the fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs continued. The Stoxx 600 surpassed a 6% loss shortly after trading began, before pulling back slightly to a loss of around 5.9% by 8:26 a.m. in London. Germany’s DAX index, home to some of the region’s biggest companies, initially shed more than 10% before paring some of those losses to trade around 7% lower. — Chloe Taylor Jim Cramer on the sell-off: ‘I’m not going to panic’ CNBC’s Jim Cramer stressed that, even in the face of Sunday’s futures sell-off, most investors should not bail on the market. “I’m not going to panic. I’m not going to say, ‘Get out now.’ I think you have to stay the course here,” Cramer said on CNBC’s special live broadcast. Cramer was reiterating the advice he gave CNBC Investing Club members earlier Sunday in his weekly column. “Let’s just be a little cooler. Recognize that there is going to some pain. You can’t dodge it,” Cramer added on CNBC. — Kevin Stankiewicz New Trump comments Stock futures were not helped by new comments by President Trump to reporters Sunday evening. The president said unless the China trade deficit is solved, there will be no deal, according to Reuters headlines. On the market sell-off, the president told reporters that sometimes you need to take medicine, according to Reuters. Dow futures were last down 1,600 points. -John Melloy Oil crosses below $60 a barrel on growing recession fears U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession. Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021. — Tanaya Macheel Bitcoin drops below $80,000 as cryptocurrencies join global market rout Bitcoin slid under $80,000 on Sunday evening, joining the broader market rout after showing resilience last week. The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last lower by 5% at $78,647.33, according to Coin Metrics. Other cryptocurrencies suffered bigger losses overnight. Ether and the token tied to Solana tumbled about 10% each. The flagship cryptocurrency usually trades like a big tech stock and is often viewed by traders as a leading indicator of market sentiment, although last week it bucked the broader market meltdown – holding between $82,000 and $83,000 and rising to end the week as stocks tumbled and even gold fell. Bitcoin is off its January all-time high by about 28%. It is expected to continue moving in tandem with equities, absent a crypto-specific catalyst, as global recession fears overshadow any regulatory tailwinds crypto was expected to benefit from this year. — Tanaya Macheel Commerce Secretary Lutnick says White House will not postpone tariffs Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that the Trump administration will remain steadfast in its reciprocal tariffs on major U.S. trading partners even in the face of a global stock market sell-off. “The tariffs are coming,” Lutnick said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday. “He announced it, and he wasn’t kidding. The tariffs are coming. Of course they are.” The White House is not considering an extension of the start deadline, he added. “There is no postponing. They are definitely going to stay in place for days and weeks,” Lutnick said. “The president needs to reset global trade. Everybody has a trade surplus and we have a trade deficit.” — Tanaya Macheel, Hakyung Kim Stock futures open lower Sunday night Stock futures opened lower Sunday night as investors braced for more volatility following a historic market sell-off. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,531 points, or more than 4%. S&P 500 futures slid 4.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 4.8%. — Tanaya Macheel ...read more read less