Investors flee U.S. assets but Chinese markets shrug off Trump's 145% tariff as trade war begins

(Credit: Shawn Thew—EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

• Global stock markets were in a state of turmoil this morning as massive tariffs go into effect on trade between the U.S. and China. Chinese stocks have stayed relatively bouyant, trading flat. But in the U.S., investors in the S&P 500 continued to take a beating in both yesterday's trading and this morning in futures contracts. It's messy in Japan and Europe, too.

China’s CSI 300 index rose by 0.4% today but that was pretty much the only good news in global markets. As of 5:20 a.m. Eastern time, shaky investor sentiment was spreading west. The Euro STOXX 50 was down by 1.7%, while S&P 500 futures were down by 0.4%.