Trading results for 3 February 2025

Monday saw a storm in the global stock market, triggered by Donald Trump. Fortunately, this storm did not escalate into a more severe crisis and even subsided slightly by the end of the day. It all began over the weekend when Trump imposed restrictive tariffs – 25% on exports from Mexico and Canada and 10% on goods from China. The global stock market immediately turned red, and the indexes of major economies began falling, dropping an average of 1-2% or more. Futures for key U.S. indexes mirrored this trend.

Traders anxiously awaited the U.S. market open, fearing that overheated investors would drive prices down further. Their concerns were justified, as S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite quickly plummeted after the opening, with losses exceeding 2% within the first hour. As markets braced for the worst, relief came from an unexpected source – Donald Trump. He postponed the implementation of tariffs on Mexico for 30 days and later did the same for Canada. By the end of Monday, the only tariffs still set to take effect were those on China, scheduled for Tuesday, 4 February. However, rumours suggested these tariffs might also be delayed. In short, this was classic Trump-style political bargaining on full display.

The tariff rollback calmed investors, and trading resumed at a more measured pace. Indexes rebounded but failed to erase early-session losses. By day's end, major U.S. indexes fell between 0.28% (Dow Jones (DJIA-30)) and 1.20% (NASDAQ Composite). The S&P 500, the main benchmark of the U.S. market, lost 0.76%, dipping just below the psychologically significant 6,000-point mark.

The ITS indexes mirrored their U.S. counterparts. The ITS World (ITSW) index lost 0.4%, while the ITS Shariah (ITSS) index dipped 0.3%.

The hardest-hit stocks were automakers and leading tech companies whose businesses – whether in manufacturing, supply chains or sales – are tied to China. The sell-off in the tech sector was expected, so it was no surprise that major players like Apple (AAPL, -3.39%) and Nvidia (NVDA, -2.84%) took significant hits. Smaller yet well-known companies also suffered steep declines, including Skyworks Solutions (SWKS, -3.99%), Microchip Technology (MCHP, -3.76%) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI, -5.86%).

As for automakers, the reasoning was straightforward. Many automakers, even those not exporting to the U.S., operate plants in Mexico and Canada, making tariffs a serious threat to production costs. Consequently, shares of nearly all major automakers – from Japanese (Honda, Toyota, Nissan) to European (BMW, Mercedes, Stellantis, Volkswagen) and American (Ford, GM, Tesla) – faced aggressive sell-offs, dropping 5–6% in early trading. By the evening, losses had slightly eased but still remained significant at 3–5%. Tesla (TSLA, -5.17%) was the biggest loser in both the ITSS and ITSW indexes. Additionally, in ITSW, Tesla was joined among the biggest losers by shares of Stellantis (STLA, -3.88%), the European automotive giant behind Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat and several other brands.

Trump set off these stock market 'fireworks' – and this is just the beginning. What happens next is unclear, perhaps even to Trump himself.