Bill Ackman is calling for a 90-day pause on the implementation of President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. “I have a lot of respect for our president and what he has accomplished so far, but I don’t think he is infallible, which is why I am stating loud and clear that I strongly believe launching tariffs on April 9th against the entire world — massively in excess of what we are being charged — is a mistake,” said Ackman in a post on the social-media platform X. The billionaire investor said he isn't making the 90-day pause recommendation to benefit his own portfolio. He said his Pershing Square holds three-year call options on Nike, their only investment directly affected by tariffs. Call options are contracts that confer the right, though not the obligation, to purchase an asset at a stated price by a certain date. In another post earlier in the day, Ackman warned about “a self-induced, economic nuclear winter” if President Trump doesn’t pause the tariffs to prevent further economic fallout.

Swiss stocks fell sharply on Friday, mirroring losses across Europe and elsewhere, as the Trump Administration's sweeping tariffs on trade partners, and retaliatory move announced by China, and possible countermeasures by a few other major countries as well, raised fears of a possible global recession. The benchmark SMI closed down 630.65 points or 5.14% at 11,648.83, after sliding to a low of 11,531.79. Julius Baer closed down 8.17%. Partners Group, Swiss Re, Sandoz Group, Alcon, Zurich Insurance, Richemont and Roche Holding lost 6 to 7.7%. Adecco, Swiss Life Holding, Holcim, Novartis, UBS Group, Straumann Holding, Logitech International, Swatch Group, Lonza Group, VAT Group and ABB lost 4.2 to 5.75%. Sika, Nestle, Schindler Ps, SGS, SIG Group, Geberit, Swisscom, Kuehne + Nagel and Sonova ended lower by 2.5 to 3.7%. In economic news, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said the unadjusted unemployment rate in Switzerland stood at 2.9% in March, the same as in February. In the corresponding month last year, the jobless rate was 2.4%. The youth unemployment rate, which is applied to the 15-24 age group, edged down to 2.6% from 2.7%. Data also showed that the seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 2.8% from 2.7%.

Europe
European stocks plunged sharply and several market tumbled to fresh multi-month lows on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff moves, and the retaliatory action by China raised fears of a global trade war and recession, prompting investors to press sales across the board. Bank, mining, energy, realty, pharmaceuticals, retail and fashion jewellery - stocks from across all these sectors tumbled on sustained selling pressure. Trump's moved prompted several European leaders to warn of retaliatory measures. French President Macro reportedly called on companies to suspend planned investments in the U.S. The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 5.12%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX, both closed down 4.95%, and France's CAC 40 tumbled 4.26%. Switzerland's SMI ended 5.14% down. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden lost 3 to 7%. Russia and Turkiye closed lower by about 2.5% and 1.1%, respectively. In the UK market, Vistry Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Fresnillo, Antofagasta and Glencore fell 9 to 13%. Airtel Africa, Natwest, Anglo American Plc, Entain, Barclays, Endeavour Mining, BP, Weir Group, Experian and Pershing Square Holdings lost 7 to 9%.

United States
Extending the nosedive seen over the course of the previous session, stocks showed another substantial move to the downside during trading on Friday. With the continued sell-off, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 plunged to their lowest closing levels in eleven months. The major averages ended the session just off their worst levels of the day. The S&P 500 plummeted 322.44 points or 6.0 percent to 5,074.08, the Nasdaq dove 962.82 points or 5.8 percent to 15,587.79 and the Dow tumbled 2,231.07 points or 5.5 percent to 38,314.86. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is now down more than 20 percent from its record high in December, which is considered a bear market in Wall Street terminology. The extended nosedive on Wall Street came amid ongoing concerns about a global trade war after China announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in reaction to President Donald Trump's new levies. China's finance ministry announced a 34 percent tariff will be imposed on all imported goods originating from the U.S. beginning on April 10th. The new tariff matches the 'reciprocal tariff' Trump plans to impose on China, although the country will face a 54 percent effective rate when the new levies are combined with existing duties. With the crude of oil plummeting to its lowest levels in over three years, energy stocks saw substantial weakness on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index down by 11.2 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively. Gold stocks also moved sharply lower amid a nosedive by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunging by 9.5 percent. Significant weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 7.6 percent slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Asia
The rapid decline on the Asian stock markets continued almost unabated at the start of the week. The tariff shock triggered by US President Donald Trump is once again causing massive losses. The downward trend was particularly strong in Tokyo, where the Nikkei-225 fell by 6.5 per cent. However, the indices on the stock exchanges in China also remain under massive pressure. The Shanghai Composite lost 6.3 per cent and the Hang Seng Index fell by as much as 10.7 per cent. In Seoul, the Kospi fell by 5.0 per cent.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market on Friday, treasuries extended the spike seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid 7.0 basis points to a six-month closing low of 3.985 percent.

Analysis
UBS lowers Orior to CHF 18.50 (21) – Sell
UBS raises Implenia to CHF 47 (41) – Buy
JP Morgan lowers DWS to EUR 51.90 (54) – Overweight

Produced by MBI Martin Brückner Infosource GmbH & Co. KG on behalf of Swissquote. All news is acquired with journalistic accuracy. No liability is assumed for delays or errors.