Global markets today: World shares slip after US stocks hit new highs; tariff deadline casts shadow

Global stock markets largely declined on Friday as investors awaited the looming July 9 tariff deadline set by US President Donald Trump, even as Wall Street climbed to new record highs on the back of a stronger-than-expected US jobs report.European markets opened in the red, with Germany’s DAX falling 0.8% to 23,730.61, France’s CAC 40 down 1.1% at 7,666.91, and the UK’s FTSE 100 slipping 0.4% to 8,790.21. Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were both trading 0.5% lower.Asian indices were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 managed to recover early losses and closed 0.1% higher at 39,810.88, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2% to 3,054.28.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.6% to 23,916.06 and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,472.32. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.1% at 8,603.00, while India’s Sensex dipped 0.1% to 83,148.45, according to AP.“Asian markets slipped into Friday like someone entering a dark alley with one eye over their shoulder — because while US equities danced higher on a sweet spotted post-payroll sugar rush, the mood in Asia was far less celebratory,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

“The reason? That familiar, twitchy unease every time Trump gets near the tariff trigger.”Analysts at Mizuho Bank said that some countries could start receiving official communication from the US about tariff levels as early as Friday. “Countries will have to brace for volatility,” the bank noted in its daily commentary.On Thursday, a robust US jobs report propelled Wall Street higher. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to notch its fourth record close in five days, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 344 points, or 0.8%.

The Nasdaq composite gained 1%.Trump’s proposed import tariffs—many of which are currently on hold—are due to be enforced next week unless trade agreements are reached with key nations, raising the spectre of renewed global trade friction.In commodities, US benchmark crude fell 45 cents to $66.55 per barrel and Brent crude declined 53 cents to $68.27.In currency markets, the dollar weakened to 144.34 yen from 144.92 yen, while the euro rose slightly to $1.1773 from $1.1761.