US President Donald Trump announced a wave of tariffs yesterday on April 2, dubbed Liberation Day by his administration.
The effects are being felt around the world, with London’s FTSE 100 falling 122.4 points, or 1.4 per cent, upon opening the following day, while Dow Futures dropped 2.4 per cent and Nasdaq 100 E-minis fell by 3.3 per cent.
Even at home in the United States, major companies, especially tech firms, saw share prices fall.
A few key examples include Apple falling 6.5 per cent, thanks to the 54 per cent tariff on China, Microsoft dropping 1.8 per cent, Nvidia sinking by 3.5 per cent and Amazon.com seeing a 5.1 per cent decrease.
On this side of the pond, British companies are seeing some similar impacts. Here’s a look at some of the biggest names affected.
Which British companies’ share prices have dropped following Trump’s tariffs?
UK sports and fashion brand JD Sports saw a 5.2 per cent decrease in its share price, thought to be due to its partnerships with brands like Nike and Adidas, whose products are largely produced in China and Vietnam. Mr Trump announced a hefty 46 per cent tariff on Vietnamese imports.
Also affected by the tariffs on Asian countries are banks like HSBC and Standard Chartered, each down by 5 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively.
Investment trusts are also feeling the impact, with Pershing Square Holdings’ shares trading 3.2 per cent lower, likely due to its links to Bill Ackman’s hedge fund and the corresponding significant investment in Nike.
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Polar Capital Technology Trust each dropped 3.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively, with the latter hit harder thanks to its large holding in Apple.
It’s not all bad news, however, with pharmaceutical brands avoiding tariffs and therefore companies like GSK, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca all opening with share prices up between 0.6 and 1.3 per cent.
Another company on the rise is Diageo, a drinks-maker that’s up by 2.69 per cent. That’s largely due to earlier troubles for its share price when tariffs were placed on Mexico, where it makes a large portion of its tequila to be sold in the US.
With a 25 per cent tariff on all cars imported to the US, UK car brands will also feel the burn, including Jaguar Land Rover. None of its cars sold in the US are produced there, meaning all of them would be subject to the tariffs.
