JAKARTA – FTSE 100 opened lower today (7/4), down 5.55% only 8 minutes after opening, proving the indication of Europe and the US stock markets’ further downtrend this week, following Trump’s tariff hike announcement last Wednesday (2/4).

The impact had been seen in last week, in which FTSE 100 had suffered a 7% decline as a whole. The most severe dip was seen last Friday (4/4), with FTSE 100 shrinking by nearly 5%, placing the index down to its worst level since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Not only FTSE is affected, other European countries’ indices were also affected by this sudden global shift, with Germany’s DAX plunging 7.6% and France’s CAC 40 slipping 7% at the opening.

According to Dharshini Davd, Deputy Economic Editor at BBC, the stock markets’ sharp downturns are currently driven by fears and negative speculation instead of fundamentals. “Fears of a recession later in this year, or next,” she added.

Earlier this day, BBC also reported that Goldman Sachs has raised the US recession risk level within the next 12 months to 45% from the initial 35%, while JP Morgan also bumped up its indicated recession risk for the US to 60%. (ZH)