Markets continue to tumble

Photo: The Canadian Press

TORONTO — North American markets careened to a fourth day of losses in a dramatic turnaround from the rally that started the day as concerns over tariffs continued to mount.

“The roller-coaster continues and really driven by the headlines once again,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones.

Markets have been falling since last Thursday as they reacted to Trump’s sweeping round of tariffs on a wide swath of countries, with market watchers eyeing the growing possibility of a recession.

China said it would retaliate to the new duties on its goods, and Trump responded by threatening to ramp up the tariffs. On Tuesday, Trump followed through on his threat, announcing imports from the country will be taxed at 104%.

Markets had been paring back their earlier rally and continued steadily descending into the red after the announcement.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 352.56 points, or 1.5%, at 22,506.90. Energy stocks dragged the index lower as the price of oil fell below US$60 a barrel, with the energy index down almost 5%.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 320.01 points at 37,645.59. The S&P 500 index was down 79.48 points at 4,982.77, while the Nasdaq composite was down 335.35 points at 15,267.91.

“The last three days have been very challenging for markets and for investors,” said Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp. “The markets are absorbing the impact of the tariffs on the global economy, on oil prices, trade, GDP growth in various countries, as well as on GDP growth globally.”

Before the latest tariff news on China, markets around the world were higher with rallies on Asian and European markets.

The Canadian dollar traded for 70.44 compared with 70.29 cents US on Monday.

The May crude oil contract was down US$1.12 at US$59.58 per barrel, continuing its descent from last week amid concerns over what an economic slowdown will mean for global demand.

The May natural gas contract was down 19 cents US at US$3.47 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract was up US$16.60 at US$2,991.10 an ounce, and the May copper contract was down five cents US at US$4.14 a pound.