The reverberations across global markets in response to Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs have been felt locally as pension pots and London-listed companies took a hit on Monday.
The FTSE 100 index of major companies fell sharply by 4.38% to 7,702.08, its lowest closing price since March last year.
Shares in the north’s biggest London-listed company, Kainos, were down 4.4%.
In currency, sterling suffered a heavy fall, slipping by 1.28% to 1.272 against the dollar at the London market close.
The falling share prices spell bad news for many pension pots.
The US President created further chaos in US markets on Monday afternoon by threatening a further 50% tariff on China if it does not withdraw the 34% retaliatory tariff increase it imposed on US imports.
It served to heighten fears of a global recession.
European shares plummeted to a 16-month low as EU trade commissioner Maros Šefčovič vowed the bloc would use “every tool” to protect itself from the impact of the 20% tariff imposed by the Trump administration.
But Mr Šefčovič said the planned retaliatory tariffs on US goods would be less than the €26 billion previously reported following feedback from member states.
The list of goods is important for Northern Ireland, because under the post-Brexit arrangements, firms in the north will be subject to those EU tariffs on US imports.
EU trade commissioner Maros Šefčovič. (Liam McBurney/PA)
Manufacturing NI has already called for a simplification of the duty reimbursement scheme originally introduced in 2023 to repay Northern Ireland firms caught up in the EU’s import duties.
Northern Ireland exports to the US will face the lower 10% tariff imposed on the UK.
It was a case of Black Monday mark two in Asian markets, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index suffering worst fall for 28 years
Shanghai’s composite index suffered its worst fall since 2020, while Taiwan’s stock lost nearly 10% on Monday, its biggest one-day drop on record.
As the shockwaves spread globally, Donald Trump defended his tariffs, claiming “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something”.
Speaking on Monday, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK had to “rise together as a nation” in the face of a new era of global instability.
“This is a moment for cool heads, nobody wins from a trade war,” he said.
Oil prices were also down on Monday, with Brent Crude oil slipping to just above $64.
It’s likely to result in further drops in the price of road fuel and home heating oil in the coming days and weeks.