Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 23, 2026
3 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleAsian stocks inched up and the dollar slipped as confusion over new U.S. tariffs clouded sentiment. Nvidia’s earnings will gauge AI risk appetite, with oil easing and gold strengthening.
By Chibuike Oguh and Harry Robertson
NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Global stocks were lower on Monday, dragged down by losses on Wall Street and in European equities as fresh uncertainty over U.S. trade policy erupted following President Donald Trump's new global tariff in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump's emergency tariffs on Friday, leading the president to quickly announce a new 10% rate on all U.S. imports, only to then lift it to 15% on Saturday. The new tariffs are based on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.66%, the S&P 500 fell 1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1%.
"We are giving up roughly half of Friday's gain due mostly to the shift to 15% on Section 122 versus 10% announced Friday, reminding us that uncertainty remains high," said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide in Philadelphia.
U.S. stock markets are also set to be tested later this week by earnings from Nvidia, which are likely to cause waves given that the chip designer makes up almost 8% of the S&P 500 index. Nvidia finished up 0.91%.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.45%. Germany's DAX lost 1% but Britain's FTSE 100 ended flat. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.74%.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled 2.8% higher at $5,225.60. Spot gold eased 0.07% to $5,227 an ounce and silver rose 0.02% to around $88.19 per ounce.
U.S. Treasury yields were lower across the board. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 5.2 basis points to 4.033%. The 2-year note yield fell 3.8 basis points to 3.422%.
TARIFF DILEMMA
Trump on Monday warned countries against backing away from recently negotiated trade deals with the U.S. after the Supreme Court's decision, saying that he would hit them with much higher duties under different trade laws.
It was unclear when the new tariffs would be imposed, what might be excluded and whether every country would face a 15% rate. Some, including the UK and Australia, had 10% tariff rates under the former rules, while many countries in Asia had higher rates.
The Yale Budget Lab said the overall average effective tariff rate would stand at 13.7% after Trump's announcement on Saturday, down from 16% - the highest since 1936 - before the Supreme Court's ruling.
It added that it expected the 15% tariffs would expire after 150 days, following the Trade Act of 1974, under which they will be set. If so, the average rate would fall to 9.1%.
The U.S. dollar was weaker against the euro, Japanese yen and Swiss franc. The dollar fell 0.22% to 154.71 against the Japanese yen. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar weakened 0.19% to 0.774.
The euro was up 0.06% at $1.1787.
Brent crude futures settled down 0.38% to $71.49 while U.S. crude oil futures fell 0.26% to $66.31.
(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York and Harry Robertson in London; Editing by Ros Russell, Aurora Ellis and Nia Williams)
Asian markets were cautious and the dollar eased as investors faced uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy. Nvidia’s upcoming earnings are expected to influence sentiment around the AI trade.
Tariff confusion raises uncertainty about trade flows and corporate costs, pressuring risk appetite. Without clarity on timing and scope, investors tend to reduce exposure to equities and cyclicals.
Nvidia is a major driver of the AI-led rally and a large weight in U.S. indices. Its results can sway global risk sentiment, influencing tech shares across Asia and futures in the U.S.
Oil eased ahead of U.S.–Iran talks, while gold gained on safe-haven demand. The dollar slipped as traders weighed tariff turmoil and shifting expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
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