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JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI (Reuters) -International debt issued by small emerging economies generally viewed as riskier by investors suffered another sharp drop on Wednesday, raising concerns about the countries' ability to borrow in future as a growing trade war blasted U.S. markets. U.S. Treasuries, the bedrock of the global financial system and benchmark for emerging market bonds, were hit by fresh selling as President Donald Trump's eye-watering 104% tariffs on China took effect, and Beijing retaliated with 84% duties. Across emerging markets, longer-dated bonds issued by so-called frontier economies suffered some of the heftiest falls, with Pakistan's longer-dated dollar-denominated bonds dropping around 5 cents to be bid around the 70-cent threshold where debt is seen as distressed, Tradeweb data showed.

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's car exports will likely face greater than forecast pressure this year as U.S. tariff hikes hit the economies of important overseas markets hard, potentially curbing consumer demand, a Chinese auto industry association said on Wednesday. China ships very few cars to the United States, which imposed a 100% tariff on imported Chinese electric vehicles under the previous administration of President Joe Biden. However, Cui Dongshu, the secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), said the sweeping tariffs announced by President Donald Trump last week were expected to have a major indirect impact on export sales.

US stock futures sank as Wall Street girded for President Trump's massive tariffs.

LONDON (Reuters) -Global markets were took a beating again on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump's eye-watering 104% tariffs on China took effect, and a savage selloff in U.S. bonds sparked fears that foreign funds were fleeing U.S. assets. U.S. Treasuries extended losses in a sign investors are dumping even their safest assets and the dollar, a traditional safe-haven, was weaker against other major currencies. Warning signals had been flashing for a few days, as spreads between Treasury yields and swap rates in the interbank market collapsed under a weight of bond selling.

As the next leg of the rapidly escalating trade war comes into view, investors remain shell-shocked, extending a deep stock market rout and flocking to the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc, awaiting, and hoping, for some semblance of good news. At the stroke of midnight (U.S. hours), President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs took effect, including 104% levies on Chinese goods, keeping fears of recession alive and upending a global trading order that has persisted for decades. That has left investors scurrying for cover as the relief rally on Wednesday fizzled out and Asian stock markets were a sea of red.

News of trade negotiations with Japan stoked fresh optimism on Tuesday, but by mid afternoon, the day's huge gains had been wiped out.

Top Chinese brokerages have pledged to help steady domestic share prices in a concerted effort, the Shanghai bourse said, and scores of listed companies unveiled stock buying plans, as the local market reels from an escalating trade war. The Shanghai Stock Exchange said late on Tuesday it held a meeting with 10 brokerages to stress the importance of stabilising markets in the face of external shocks. The participants, including Citic Securities, Orient Securities and Industrial Securities, expressed optimism about China's growth prospects, and vowed to steady the market, it said in a statement.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -In a stunning reversal, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries while further ramping up pressure on China, sending U.S. stocks rocketing higher. Trump's turnabout, which came less than 24 hours after steep new tariffs kicked in on most trading partners, followed the most intense episode of financial market volatility since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The upheaval erased trillions of dollars from stock markets and led to an unsettling surge in U.S. government bond yields that appeared to catch Trump's attention.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Stock indexes posted their biggest one-day gains in years, with the S&P 500 recording its largest rise since 2008, while the dollar gained and Treasuries pared losses on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a temporary U.S. pause on tariffs. The announcement by Trump came in the afternoon after days of market turmoil, with bond prices and the U.S. dollar selling off earlier in the day on fears that the administration's plans to raise tariffs to levels last seen more than 100 years ago would push the economy into recession. The president announced an immediate 90-day tariff pause for many countries even as he raised the levy on Chinese imports to 125%.

Across Wall Street, 44 publicly traded companies were upgraded Tuesday to an equivalent rating of "buy" or "neutral."