Trump tariff, US inflation: All you need to know about the global markets over the weekend

The equity benchmark indices on Monday, February 10, are expected to open lower following the global cues and as signalled by the GIFT NIFTY index.

GIFT NIFTY was trading 0.10% lower at 23,560 level during the morning trade.

On Friday, the S&P BSE SENSEX stood at 77,860.19, falling 197.97 points, or 0.25%, while the NSE's NIFTY50 index ended at 23,559.95, down 43.40 points, or 0.18%.

This was followed by a repo rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. The RBI decided to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 6.25% from 6.5% earlier.

The US indices ended lower on Friday as investors grappled with fresh tariff threats from the Trump administration and rising inflation expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 444.23 points, or 0.99%, to 44,303.40, while the S&P 500 dropped 57.58 points, or 0.95%, to 6,025.99. The Nasdaq Composite closed 268.59 points, or 1.36%, lower at 19,523.40.

Meanwhile, markets also reacted to a decline in consumer sentiment. The survey revealed that Americans expect Inflation to surge to 4.3% for the next year, up a full percentage point from the previous month, adding to investor concerns.

Asian markets on Monday were trading, tracking a fall in US stocks futures, ahead of key economic data and the likelihood of more tariffs. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.3%.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 0.10%, while South Korea’s Kospi inched higher by 0.15%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading higher by 1.39%. China’s Shanghai Composite was trading at 3316.12, rising 0.38%.

US President Donald Trump said he will announce on Monday 25% tariffs imposed on all steel and aluminum imports, including from Canada and Mexico, as well as other import duties later in the week.

“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff,” he said on Sunday.

Trump also reaffirmed that he would announce “reciprocal tariffs”—“probably Tuesday or Wednesday”—meaning that the US would impose import duties on products in cases where another country has levied duties on US goods.

“If they are charging us 130% and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” Trump said.

US jobs growth slowed more than expected in January after robust gains in the prior two months. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 143,000 jobs last month after rising by an upwardly revised 307,000 in December, the most in nearly two years. The moderation in job gains followed a surge of 261,000 added jobs in November.

US households saw inflation over the next year surging to 4.3%—the highest since November 2023 —from 3.3% last month. Over the next five years they saw inflation running at 3.3% - the highest since June 2008 - from 3.2% in January.