US stocks tumbled on Friday following disappointing July employment data and fresh tariff announcements from President Trump. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq recorded their steepest declines since April, falling 1.60% and 2.20% respectively, while the Dow shed 542 points. July payrolls increased by only 73 thousand, well below forecasts, with significant downward revisions to previous months, underscoring mounting labour market concerns. Treasury yields declined and market bets on a September Fed rate cut surged past 80%. Investor sentiment worsened after new tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% were imposed on imports from countries like Canada, India, and Taiwan.

Despite a slight upward revision to the S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI to 49.8, the reading still reflected contraction and marked the weakest level since December. Ongoing uncertainty around tariffs and flat demand continued to weigh on the manufacturing sector. In commodities, gold jumped nearly 2% to above $3 350/oz as traders sought safe havens amid signs of economic cooling and rising expectations of policy easing. Meanwhile, WTI crude dropped 2.7% to $67.30/bbl as reports suggested OPEC+ may agree to boost output by over 500,000 barrels per day starting in September.

European equities mirrored the global sell-off, with the STOXX 50 plunging 2.70% and the STOXX 600 falling 1.80% on the day, as broader concerns over US protectionism deepened.

The rand weakened by about 1% to R18.04/$ in late trade, recovering from earlier losses due to the weaker US dollar. However, the JSE declined sharply as investors considered the negative implications of SA’s failure to reach a trade deal with the US. On a brighter note, the Absa PMI rose to 50.8 in July, the first sign of manufacturing growth in nine months, buoyed by a surge in new sales orders. Still, drops in employment and business expectations hinted at underlying caution.

In Asia, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.10% to a two-week low, pressured by fears of heightened inflation due to new US tariffs. The Nikkei 225 also slipped 0.66%, with tech shares dragging the index to a 1.58% weekly loss.