Global stocks sink after Trump threatens more China tariffs

BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks sank Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened more tariff hikes on Chinese imports if talks aimed at ending a trade war fail to produce an interim agreement.

Market benchmarks in London, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Tokyo declined. Wall Street looked set to slip.

Trump said Tuesday that an agreement on the “Phase 1” deal announced last month “could happen soon.” But he warned he was ready to raise tariffs “very substantially” if that fails.

The two sides disagree publicly about whether the U.S. agreed to roll back some punitive tariffs imposed in the fight over Beijing’s trade surplus and technology ambitions. The Chinese government said last week that was settled, but Trump denied that.

Trump’s comments “served as a reminder of the challenge that the two sides face,” said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report. However, she said, investors saw them as “positioning statements,” reducing their impact.

Mamdani’s early moves as mayor clash with affordability pledge: ‘Ripple effects are significant’

Trump admin wins court victory freeing ICE agents from Minnesota protest restrictions

DOJ could soon ask Supreme Court to consider legal battle over Trump-appointed US attorneys

ALERT: US Holocaust Museum Responds After Tim Walz Invokes Anne Frank’s Name, Calls Exploiting Holocaust ‘Deeply Offensive’

Conservative Party defections to Reform UK continue with former home secretary

Democrats lay out immigration demands as Congress careens toward shutdown

Report: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei Now Living in Underground Bunker, Fears Trump Might Come for Him

‘This Is Not a Protest’: Former Special Ops Soldier Says Insurgent Tactics Being Used in Minnesota

Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino to leave Minnesota, as Tom Homan takes over

Kathy Hochul blasted for knocking ICE as DHS offered federal help during NY blizzard

Trump Announces Major Asset is Headed to Minnesota Amid Continued Unrest: ‘I am Sending Tom Homan’

Former Louisiana high school teacher indicted for allegedly trying to entice student into sex

Agents involved in Pretti killing were wearing body cameras: DHS

Repeat offender street racing at 106 mph mows down EMT after previously killing someone in crash: police

Watch: Sylvester Stallone’s Brother Frank Comes Out Swinging Against Anti-ICE Agitators, Tim Walz, and Jacob Frey

In midday trading, London’s FTSE 100 declined 0.5% to 7,331 and Frankfurt’s DAX lost 0.7% to 13,186. France’s CAC 40 shed 0.4% to 5,894. On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were each down 0.4%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3% to 2,905.24 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 sank 0.9% to 23,319.87. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 1.8% to 26,571.46.

South Korea’s Kospi retreated 0.9% to 2,122.45 and Australia’s S&P-ASX 200 sank 0.8% at 6,698.40. India’s Sensex lost 0.3% to 40,215.20.

Hong Kong shares, already under pressure from the U.S.-China tariff war and slowing global demand, have been jolted by growing violence in anti-government protests.

The protests began in June over a proposed extradition law and expanded to include demands for greater democracy and other grievances. Hong Kong tumbled into its first recession in a decade in the latest quarter.

Momentum for the global stock market has been mostly upward for more than five weeks as worries about the U.S.-China trade war have eased.

This week, the U.S. Labor Department is due to give updates on consumer and wholesale inflation. Economists expect a government report to show retail sales returned to growth in October.