Investors See Hope Amid Carnage Despite China Threats

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

NEW YORK/BEIJING/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Stock futures rose in after-hours trading Monday with investors preparing to pick up cheap shares after the carnage linked to the tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

Contracts tied to the Dow industrials, the S&P 500, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 indexes in New York gained more than 1 percent. It came despite China threatening to retaliate against the U.S. if President Trump raises the tariff on Chinese goods by an additional 50 percent.

In Asia, where many economies are highly trade-reliant, Japanese stocks rose more than 5 percent after a widespread selloff on Monday.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index sank 4.5 percent, while Bitcoin and oil prices also fell.

Yet the sudden rise in at least some stocks suggested investors were prepared to move in to pick up more affordable stocks despite Beijing threatening to target the U.S. with more tariffs.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, said it was furious that President Trump may carry out his threat to raise the tariff on Chinese goods by an additional 50 percent.

CHINA COUNTERMEASSURES

On Tuesday, a statement from the Ministry of Commerce said that if the U.S. escalates tariffs, “China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests.”

Previously, China announced a blanket 34 percent tariff on American goods, matching the level of Trump’s April 2 tariff on Chinese imports.

“The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which once again exposes the U.S.’s blackmail nature,” the commerce ministry added. “If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end.”

Yet in Washington, a defiant Trump said he would not remove his tariffs on Chinese goods.

In a message on his Truth Social media platform, Trump warned that “any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set.”

He added, “Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34 percent increase above their already long-term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50 percent effective April 9th.”

Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.

More Worthy News

Iran Launches Strait of Hormuz Naval Drills as U.S. Expands Carrier “Armada” Amid Nuclear Talks
Iran Launches Strait of Hormuz Naval Drills as U.S. Expands Carrier “Armada” Amid Nuclear Talks
Monday, February 16, 2026

Iran launched live-fire naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, signaling heightened military readiness in one of the world’s most strategically vital waterways as nuclear negotiations with the United States resumed in Europe.

New Era for Biblical Scholarship as CSNTM Launches Comprehensive Digital Manuscript Collection
New Era for Biblical Scholarship as CSNTM Launches Comprehensive Digital Manuscript Collection
Monday, February 16, 2026

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) has launched a new online Digital Manuscript Collection interface, marking what the organization describes as one of the most significant developments in its history.

Rubio Strongly Backs Orbán As U.S.–Hungary Ties Enter “Golden Era”
Rubio Strongly Backs Orbán As U.S.–Hungary Ties Enter “Golden Era”
Monday, February 16, 2026

The United States and Hungary have concluded 17 agreements covering nuclear energy, oil, and natural gas cooperation as Budapest faces pressure to reduce its reliance on cheap Russian energy.

Pakistan’s Punjab Bans Child Marriage Under 18 As Killing Of Christian Shopkeeper Raises Concerns
Pakistan’s Punjab Bans Child Marriage Under 18 As Killing Of Christian Shopkeeper Raises Concerns
Monday, February 16, 2026

Christian rights campaigners have welcomed Friday’s landmark decision by Pakistan’s Punjab province to criminalize child marriage by setting 18 as the minimum legal age for marriage. However, the killing of a Pakistani Christian shopkeeper in the same province cast a shadow over the celebrations.

Trump: Board of Peace Nations Pledge $5 Billion, Thousands of Personnel for Gaza Security
Trump: Board of Peace Nations Pledge $5 Billion, Thousands of Personnel for Gaza Security
Sunday, February 15, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Sunday that countries participating in his Gaza “Board of Peace” have pledged more than $5 billion toward humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip, along with committing thousands of personnel to support new security arrangements in the enclave.

27 Members of TdA, anti-Tren Members Charged in New York
27 Members of TdA, anti-Tren Members Charged in New York
Sunday, February 15, 2026

An additional 27 members of Venezuelan transnational criminal organizations, Tren de Aragua and its splinter faction, anti-Tren, have been indicted in New York in an ongoing prosecution of groups the Trump administration has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

‘Muslim Extremists Beat Two Pastors In Eastern Uganda’
‘Muslim Extremists Beat Two Pastors In Eastern Uganda’
Sunday, February 15, 2026

Two pastors in eastern Uganda who were reportedly attacked by a group of Muslim extremists have been discharged from a hospital and are continuing to recover at home, Worthy News learned Sunday.