Trump tariffs send global stocks tumbling for second consecutive day

US index sees biggest fall since June 2020 amid escalating global trade war 

 Traders at work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, April 4. Picture: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The sell-off for financial markets worldwide is slamming into a higher, scarier gear on Friday.

The S&P 500 tumbled 5.7% as Wall Street’s worst crisis since the pandemic deepened after China matched US president Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs announced earlier this week. The move increases the stakes in a trade war that could end with a recession that hurts everyone. Not even a better-than-expected report on the US job market, which is usually the economic highlight of each month, was enough to stop the slide.