Trump says 100% tariffs on China not sustainable
US president Donald Trump has said today his proposed 100% tariff on goods from China would not be sustainable.
He added that he would meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping in two weeks and that he thought things would be fine with China.
In comments that seem to have reassured investors, Trump told Fox Business Network:
“It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is.
They forced me to do that.”
Reminder: this 100% tariff was threatened a week ago, when the US was unhappy about new restrictions on China’s rare earth exports.
Key events
Precious metal miners have joined the banks as the big stock market fallers in London today.
With the sell-off more muted, the fallers are being led by Fresnillo (-7.3%), with Endeavour Mining (-5.8%) not far being. They’re being hit by the fall in gold and silver prices today.
Asset manager ICG (-5.7%) and bank Barclays (-4.1%) are also in the top fallers, even though the US regional banking panic seems to have eased….
Wall Street has now turned positive, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq share indices all up around 0.25%.
American’s views on the economy turned more negative in the third quarter with deepening concerns about jobs, inflation and the outlook, a new survey has found.
The CNBC All-America Economic Survey has found that president Donald Trump’s net approval rating on the economy fell, with 42% approving of his handling of the economy and 55% disapproving.
The -13 net approval on the economy is the lowest of any CNBC survey during either of Trump’s two terms.
Gold and silver slide from record highs
Precious metals prices are falling, after their recent surges to record highs.
Spot silver is down over 3% today at $52.49 per ounce.
And gold, which hit a new peak this morning, is now down 2% at $4,234 per ounce.
Zions and Western Alliance shares open higher
Shares in the two US regional banks that sparked yesterday’s sell-off are rising slightly in early trading.
Zions Bancorporation are up 4.6%, while Western Alliance Bancorporation has gained 2.8%.
Yesterday, Zions fell by 11% after it revealed it faced a $50m charge-off over two bad loans.
Western Alliance was down over 10% on Thursday after saying it was dealing with a fraudulent borrower.
Wall Street opens slightly lower
DING DING rings the opening bell of Wall Street, starting a new day’s trading.
And stocks are dipping slightly, although it’s certainly not the slump we saw in Europe or Asia-Pacific markets earlier today.
The S&P 500 share index, which is a broad measure of the US stock market, has dropped by 17 points or 0.26% at the start of trading, to 6,611 points.
The technology-focused Nasdaq index has dropped by 0.43%.
But the Dow Jones industrial average has bucked the trend; this index of 30 large US companies has risen by 21 points or 0.05% to 45,973.49.
While investors remain concerned about the situation in the US regional banking sector, there may also be relief that Donald Trump has said his meeting with China’s Xi Jinping is still on.
Trump says 100% tariffs on China not sustainable
US president Donald Trump has said today his proposed 100% tariff on goods from China would not be sustainable.
He added that he would meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping in two weeks and that he thought things would be fine with China.
In comments that seem to have reassured investors, Trump told Fox Business Network:
“It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is.
They forced me to do that.”
Reminder: this 100% tariff was threatened a week ago, when the US was unhappy about new restrictions on China’s rare earth exports.
The London stock market is continuing to scramble back from its earlier lows, as the City awaits the opening of Wall Street in around 40 minute time.
The FTSE 100 index of blue-chip shares is now down 86 points, or 0.9%, at 9,350 – having fallen as low as 9,276 points this morning.
Indications that the US market may open pretty calmly are helping the mood in London.
Eamon Javers, CNBC’s Senior Washington Correspondent, reports that US treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Liefeng will discuss trade negotiations by phone today.
He adds:
I don’t have details on timing or content of the call, but it’s notable that it is happening.
I’m told that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Liefeng will speak by phone today to discuss the ongoing trade negotiations between the United States and China.
I don’t have details on timing or content of the call, but it’s notable that it is…— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) October 17, 2025
If the call is constructive, it could calm some worries over the state of the trade talks….
Weaknesses in the US regional banking sector are just the latest in a list of issues for investors to worry about.
As Bob Savage, head of markets macro strategy at BNY, explains:
Today’s market reaction isn’t just a US story: in China, bonds have rallied while CNY and stocks are both down going into the weekend, as the market waits for the next plenum and further economic policy shifts. Japan faces a 50-50 moment in which the LDP may not win the prime ministership, while megabanks in the country are allowed to issue stablecoins for business use.
The global demand fears are also driving energy: oil is off 1%, with the key $60/barrel Brent mark in sight. In Europe, the focus is on defense shares and plans for a Putin/Trump meeting after today’s Zelenskyy/Trump meetings. EU drug maker shares are also in focus following Trump’s vows to cut weight-loss drug prices.
The US stock market futures are paring their earlier declines – a sign that Wall Street will not fall as sharply as feared.
S&P 500 fuures are now down 0.3%, Nasdaq 100 futures are down 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial average is only facing a 0.1% drop.
Asset managers among FTSE 100 fallers
City traders are catching their breath after one of the most testing morning sessions of recent months.
The FTSE 100 share index is now down 120 points, or 1.27%, so it’s clawed back a little of its earlier losses.
Barclays remains the biggest faller in London, down 5.7%, as worries about problems in the US regional banking setor continue to ripple out….
But it’s now accompanied by several asset managers: ICG are down 5.4%, while Schroders has lost 4.6% and St James’s Place is down 3.7%.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, says fears of a credit bubble are dominating the markets today:
It’s a volatile end to the week, stocks are a sea of red in Europe and Asia, and US equity market futures are pointing to another day of hefty losses for stock indices across the pond.
The selloff has been caused by fears about the private credit market. What started as concerns about two bankrupt companies, First Brands and Tricolor, and the impact on private lenders, has now broadened out to concerns about US regional banks after Zions Bancorp and Western Alliance both said that they would suffer losses due to fraudulent loans.
The dash into government bonds today means Germany’s borrowing cost are heading for their biggest weekly drop since late March.
Reuters has the details:
Germany’s 10-year Bund yields, the bloc’s benchmark, were down 2 basis points (bps) at 2.58%, after hitting 2.523%, the lowest since June 25.
They were set to end the week 9 basis points lower, which would be the biggest drop since the final week of March, when yields fell sharply amid concerns over the deflationary impact of U.S. tariffs.
Richard Partington
Huw Pill added that the Bank of England would take into account the policies announced in Rachel Reeves’s November budget at its December monetary policy meeting.
Asked by the Guardian whether the upcoming UK budget risks impact inflation persistence or economic weakness, the BoE’s chief economist said the Bank’s decisions were based on announced policy measures.
Pill says:
“The budget is an important issue but it’s not the only issue.”
