US stocks went into a straight shock on Thursday, one that has not been since the Covid-19 pandemic, as shares ripped through financial markets across the world over worries about the destruction President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs could bring to economies worldwide, including America's own.

Trump imposed a baseline tariff of 10% on most nations, with some nations bracketed as ‘bad operators’ hit with a higher level.

Investors were caught off guard by the aggressive country-specific duties Trump announced, including a 54% total tariff on Chinese imports.

As part of his "Liberation Day" on April 2, Trump slapped hefty tariffs on major trading partners, plunging markets into turmoil, just as investors parse through the first new quarterly earnings, along with Chinese inflation data, waiting for the rest of the world to respond.