Global stocks mostly declined on Friday, even as U.S. markets continued their record-setting climb, with investors on edge ahead of President Donald Trump’s July 9 tariff deadline.
In Europe’s early trading, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.8% to 23,730.61, France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.1% to 7,666.91, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.4% to 8,790.21. Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were both down 0.5%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 bounced back from early losses to edge up 0.1% to 39,810.88, while South Korea’s KOSPI sank 2% to 3,054.28. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.6% to 23,916.06, but China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.3% to close at 3,472.32.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose slightly by 0.1% to 8,603.00, while India’s Sensex ticked down 0.1% to 83,148.45.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management described the tone in Asian markets as cautious: “It felt like walking into a dark alley with one eye over your shoulder,” he wrote. “U.S. stocks may be rallying on upbeat post-payroll data, but in Asia, the mood is far more nervous — thanks to that all-too-familiar anxiety whenever Trump nears the tariff trigger.”
