US Tariffs Cause Market Drops and Israel Expands Territorial Control in Gaza
Andrew Sheves Good morning.
Two quick headlines before you head into the weekend.
🔻** Liberation Day Causes Markets to Plunge**
US stocks suffered their worst plunge since the pandemic, with the S&P 500 dropping 4.8% and erasing $2.5 trillion in value as Trump’s new tariffs sparked recession fears. The Nasdaq 100 fell 5.4%, with tech giants like Apple (-9%), Tesla, and Nvidia taking heavy hits, while retail and manufacturing stocks plummeted—Nike tumbled 14% and luxury furnishing company RH crashed 40%. Bond traders boosted bets on Fed rate cuts as the 10-year Treasury yield briefly dipped below 4%, with analysts warning tariffs could reduce US economic growth by 2 percentage points while pushing inflation to 5%. More - Bloomberg
🇵🇸** Israel Expands Territorial Control in Gaza**
Israel is expanding military operations to “seize large areas” of Gaza and establish new security zones, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz. Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the creation of an additional security corridor called Morag that will further divide Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum criticized the move, asking if the government was “sacrificing hostages for capturing land” instead of securing their release through negotiations. Meanwhile, humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate, with the World Food Program announcing that all its supported bakeries have closed due to lack of fuel and flour, and its final food parcels will be depleted by Thursday. More - Washington Post
More Unstable
🇩🇿 Algeria, 🇦🇴 Angola, 🇧🇯 Benin, 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso, 🇧🇮 Burundi, 🇨🇲 Cameroon, 🇨🇫 Central African Republic, 🇹🇩 Chad, 🇰🇲 Comoros, 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic Of The Congo, 🇩🇯 Djibouti, 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea, 🇪🇷 Eritrea, 🇸🇿 Eswatini, 🇪🇹 Ethiopia, 🇬🇦 Gabon, 🇬🇭 Ghana, 🇬🇳 Guinea, 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau, 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast, 🇰🇪 Kenya, 🇱🇸 Lesotho, 🇱🇷 Liberia, 🇲🇬 Madagascar, 🇲🇼 Malawi, 🇲🇱 Mali, 🇲🇷 Mauritania, 🇲🇿 Mozambique, 🇳🇪 Niger, 🇳🇬 Nigeria, 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo, 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone, 🇸🇴 Somalia, 🇿🇦 South Africa, 🇸🇸 South Sudan, 🇸🇩 Sudan, 🇹🇬 Togo, 🇺🇬 Uganda, 🇪🇭 Western Sahara, 🇿🇲 Zambia, 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
More Stable
No countries were more stable over this period
Unchanged
🇧🇼 Botswana, 🇨🇻 Cape Verde, 🇲🇺 Mauritius, 🇲🇦 Morocco, 🇳🇦 Namibia, 🇷🇼 Rwanda, 🇸🇳 Senegal, 🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe, 🇹🇿 Tanzania, 🇬🇲 The Gambia
Africa News Summary
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Pakistan has urged the United Nations Security Council to adopt a dialogue-based approach to resolving the ongoing conflict, emphasizing that military solutions are inadequate. This call for dialogue coincides with planned direct talks between the Congolese government and M23 rebels, scheduled for April 9, which could represent a pivotal moment in efforts to end the violence [SOURCE - Associated Press of Pakistan] [[SOURCE - SABC News]](https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/congo-and-m23-rebels-plan-to-hold-first-direct-talks-on-april-9/?
Carpe tomorrow!