US equity futures sink on twin shocks from tariffs and tech

S&P 500 futures are down 1% as of 7:40 a.m. ET, reeling from twin shocks on tariffs and tech.

On Thursday evening, via an executive order, President Donald Trump announced 10% minimum global tariffs, a 15% levy on imports from countries that run trade surpluses with the US, and a 40% tax on goods transshipped in an attempt to duck other tariffs, due to take effect on August 7. There were also a host of hikes to tariff rates on countries that had not struck new deals with the US after the initial Rose Garden tariffs were delayed.

At their lows in premarket trading, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust were down 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively.

As we’ve noted, Trump Always Raises Tariffs (TART) is a more reliable characteristic of the 45th and 47th president’s time in office than the notion that Trump Always Chickens Out (TACO). The US effective tariff rate is poised to go up even more absent any new deals or delays. Bloomberg Economics estimates that these measures will propel the average US tariff rate north of 15%.

Meanwhile, Amazon slumped after delivering an underwhelming outlook for operating profits and some disappointing commentary during its conference call, sending shares as much as 8% lower. When a trillion-dollar company nosedives that much, it’ll usually leave a mark on major indexes.