Dow futures fall over 3%, signalling another tough day for Wall Street

trade war fears rage on. Dow Jones futures are down as much as 3%, while Nasdaq is on track to fall another 3%. This came after China pledged additional tariffs on US goods in retaliation to Trump's reciprocal levies.

US stocks fell sharply on Thursday too with S&P 500 plunging nearly 5%, its largest one-day percentage decline since June 2020.

China's finance ministry said it would impose additional tariffs of 34% on all US goods from April 10. The tariffs have fuelled expectations for a global economic downturn and sharp price hikes across sectors in the world's biggest consumer market.

Going forward, focus will also be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at 11:25 a.m. ET for clues on the path of interest rates.

Traders continued to anticipate a more accommodative policy from the US central bank, with money market futures pricing in cumulative rate cuts of 100 basis points by the end of this year, compared with about 75 bps a week earlier.

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Powell will add his voice to a growing debate at the central bank over whether the Trump administration's new policies are more likely to stoke higher inflation or undercut growth and employment so much the Fed will have to respond.

Some comments from other officials from the Fed showed concern the economy could be pulled in conflicting directions in coming months, with steep tariffs driving prices higher even as fading confidence and price shocks drive growth and consumption lower.

Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson noted on Thursday that the «substantial amount