9 April 2025
If you are covering the latest falls in stock markets, please find below a comment from Stuart Clark, portfolio manager at Quilter Investors:
“With Trump’s tariffs coming into effect overnight, the small relief markets had yesterday has quickly given way for another day of falls. Clearly some market participants are getting a tad over optimistic that these tariffs will be fleeting and somehow negotiated away by countries willing to give in to Trump’s aggressive trade tactics. There will also be some looking to sniff out a bargain, but today’s moves show we are not anywhere near that point yet.
“We can say with a little more certainty now that the baseline 10% universal tariff is here to stay during Trump’s presidency. The tariffs over and above that may one day be able to be reduced, but Trump wants to make a statement and markets are consequently adjusting. Realism is setting in and the fact is more industries could feasibly be targeted. Pharmaceutical stocks, for example, are taking a large hit today as a result of fresh fears they will be next in Trump’s crosshairs.
“There are still a huge number of unknowns and uncertainties out there with these tariffs and as such markets are likely to be whipsawed around the place. Investors need to be very wary of any false or relief rallies like we saw yesterday, as the news flow can quite clearly change things in an instant. We still are not yet at the point where central banks feel the need to step in and as such investors face an even greater risk if they look to time the market. While the uncertainty can be painful, the best tactic is to be patient, stay invested and if you have money on the sidelines waiting to be invested, drip feed it into the market to help ride out the volatility.”
