Stocks fell globally on Monday morning, including US futures, as investors braced themselves for US president Donald Trump's broadest set of tariffs to be enacted this week.
Trump has referred to Wednesday 2 April as "Liberation Day", on which he is expected to announce reciprocal tariffs.
On Sunday, Trump suggested that the tariffs he plans to announce this week would hit all countries, not just those with the largest trade imbalances with the US. "You'd start with all countries, so let's see what happens," Trump reportedly told reporters on Air Force One.
A number of US tech stocks were down in pre-market trading on Monday morning, including chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), falling 3.5% into the red.
The rest of the Magnificent 7 tech giants — Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT) and Tesla (TSLA) — were down in pre-market trading.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, a close adviser to Trump, said in a reply post on X last week that the tariff impact on his electric vehicle company was "still significant".
Shares in Tesla (TSLA) have slumped and are down nearly 35% year-to-date, as Musk has faced backlask for his role heading up the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), overseeing cuts to government agencies.
Bloomberg reported early on Monday that Musk said at a town hall event in Wisconsin that the DOGE role was "costing me a lot".
Tesla (TSLA) shares were down 4% in pre-market trading on Monday morning.
Chipmaker TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW) reiterated its commitment to its operations in Taiwan on Monday, according to a Reuters report, amid concerns that its latest investment in the US would dilute its presence domestically.
YP Chyn, executive vice president and co-chief operating officer at TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW), reportedly said at a ceremony for a newly built fab in south Taiwan's Kaohsiung that this would add 7,000 tech jobs to the island's economy and that the company would continue to expand in Taiwan. The factory produces TSMC's (TSM, 2330.TW) most advanced chips using two nanometre technology.
A spokesperson for TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW) had not responded to Yahoo Finance UK's request for comment at the time of writing.
In early March, TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW) announced that it would invest $100bn (£77.4bn) in the US, which included plans for three new fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities and a major research and development team centre.
Taiwan-listed shares in TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW) were down 4% on Monday, amid broader volatility, with the stock having fallen 15% year-to-date.
Shares in Aston Martin (AML.L) surged 12% on Monday morning, after the struggling luxury carmaker said it planned to sell its minority stake in the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One team, as it looks to raise more funds.
In addition, Aston Martin (AML.L) said that billionaire Lawrence Stroll's Yew Tree Consortium was planning to invest a further £52.5m ($67.8m) into company, which would increase its stake up to 33%. Stroll is the executive chairman of Aston Martin (AML.L), as well as the majority owner of the Aston Martin Aramco F1 team, in which his son Lance Stroll is a driver.
Aston Martin (AML.L) said that the proposed transactions were expected to improve the group's total liquidity by £125m.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell (AJB.L), said: "A shareholder going over 29.9% normally has to make a full takeover offer under the UK City Code on takeovers and mergers. The Yew Tree Consortium has tabled a proposal to lift its stake to 33%, yet it is seeking an exemption from the takeover rule.
“Exemptions have been granted in the past, yet it feels like a takeover would be a better outcome as it would mean the car company would be free to pursue a turnaround strategy out of the public spotlight."
Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF.L) were down nearly 3% on Monday morning, after the company said that Primark CEO Paul Marchant had resigned with immediate effect, over an allegation by a woman about "his behaviour towards her in a social environment".
ABF (ABF.L) said that an Marchant had cooperated with an investigation by external lawyers "acknowledged his error of judgement and accepts that his actions fell below the standards expected by ABF. He has made an apology to the individual concerned, the ABF (ABF.L) board and also to his Primark colleagues and others connected to the business."
George Weston, CEO of ABF (ABF.L), said: "I am immensely disappointed. At ABF, we believe that high standards of integrity are essential.
"Acting responsibly is the only way to build and manage a business over the long term. Colleagues and others must be treated with respect and dignity. Our culture has to be, and is, bigger than any one individual."
