Global markets plunged on Thursday as uncertainty over U.S. trade policy, inflation risks, and slowing economic growth fueled a sharp sell-off in growth stocks.
U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday as the market refocused on the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's tariff policies and the potential risks of rising inflation combined with slowing growth.
Investors sold off high-growth stocks and rotated into defensive sectors like utilities. The tech-heavy sector and chip stocks experienced widespread declines, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling 0.72 percent. Shares of FedEx, considered a bellwether for the U.S. economy, dropped more than 5 percent in after-hours trading after the company lowered its full-year earnings guidance.
In Europe, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned that changes in U.S. trade policy could drag down Eurozone economic growth. Lagarde said that if the U.S. imposed a 25 percent tariff on goods imported from Europe, Eurozone economic growth could decline by approximately 0.3 percentage points in the first year. This decline could widen to approximately 0.5 percentage points if the EU retaliated with tariffs on U.S. goods.
European markets also closed lower on Thursday, with defense stocks falling broadly as investors continued to "buy the rumor, sell the fact" regarding Germany's large fiscal spending plan. The three major European indices all finished the day in negative territory.
In the international oil market, crude oil futures rose on Thursday. Contributing to this was that the U.S. government introduced new sanctions related to Iran. Also on the same day, seven oil-producing countries within OPEC+ pledged to increase their production cuts in the short term, due to prior overproduction. The total combined production cut will range from 189,000 to 435,000 barrels per day. These factors are expected to lead to a tightening of international oil supply in the short term.
Gold prices edged slightly higher on Thursday, reaching another record closing high. Investors continued to buy gold as a safe-haven asset, driven by concerns about economic uncertainty expressed by the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank. However, the continued rebound of the U.S. dollar index limited the gains in gold prices.
USA, EU stocks tumble amid trade uncertainty, inflation concerns
Israel's renewed military offensive in Gaza on Tuesday resulted in what the UN called the "largest single-day child death toll in the last year", leaving the loved ones of the young victims and medical workers in the enclave stunned and horrified.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since Israel intensified its attacks on the Gaza Strip this week, with more than 130 children being killed on Tuesday, according to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Hundreds more children have been injured, with many believed to be still missing beneath the rubble of their destroyed homes.
The home of the Al-Batniji family, who had recently returned to Gaza City after being displaced in the south, was targeted by an Israeli airstrike. The family is now desperately searching for their surviving children.
"I was bathing my child after heating the water, when we suddenly heard an explosion. We had nothing [left] with us. My son Mu'ayyad was with me. This is my daughter -- she is the only one who survived the attack. My four children were killed in two previous bombings, and this is the third time," Um Ahmed Al-batniji, a distraught woman holding a baby tight in her arms, told China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Friday.
The women of the Al-Batniji family were left stunned by the sudden Israeli bombing of their home, which left them no time to rescue their children who were playing in the courtyard.
"The children were playing here when we suddenly heard the shelling. Some of our children were killed and the others were badly injured. At the beginning of the conflict, we survived a massacre in Shuja'iyya, where many of our family members were killed. My children who were killed today survived that previous attack," said Um Muhammad Al-batniji, another survivor.
Children make up nearly half of the Gaza Strip's population and are enduring extremely dire conditions due to ongoing Israeli shelling. They, together with women, have accounted for the largest percentage of casualties in the conflict.
Following the latest Israeli attacks, the number of child victims at the few hospitals that are still running in the strip has reached record levels.
"We have received a large number of injuries, most of them children. The nature of the injuries was fatal, especially for children, as their small bodies cannot withstand this amount of explosives and the brutality of the bombing," said Ahmed Radi, an emergency physician.
UNICEF issued a statement describing the reports and images emerging from the Gaza Strip after the attacks as "beyond horrifying" as one million children in Gaza have once again been plunged into a world of fear and death.
Heavy child casualties from Israel's renewed attacks in Gaza leaves survivors, medics horrified
