TikTok, tariffs and military intercepts: Market reaction to day key events

​On September 25, the global agenda was focused on U.S. trade policy, energy security and military incidents. Donald Trump signed an executive order approving the sale of TikTok, announced new tariffs on imported goods and urged Turkey to stop buying Russian oil. Poland warned its citizens about the dangers of traveling to Belarus, NATO and U.S. forces reported intercepting Russian military aircraft, and Google deepened its involvement in Bitcoin mining.

Key events of the day

TikTok and Trump’s order. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing the sale of TikTok to a consortium of American investors. The new company is valued at around $14 billion. Chinese President Xi Jinping has already approved the deal.

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New U.S. tariffs. Trump announced a new round of tariffs on a broad range of imported goods, including 100% duties on branded drugs and 25% tariffs on heavy-duty trucks. The measures will take effect next week and have already raised concerns in global markets.

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Statement on Turkey. At a meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the White House, Trump said he would like Ankara to stop buying Russian oil while the war in Ukraine continues. The U.S. president stressed that Russia’s economy is in crisis and that the war leads to needless loss of life.

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Poland’s warning. Poland’s Foreign Ministry urged its citizens to refrain from traveling to Belarus and recommended that those already in the country leave immediately. The ministry warned that in the event of border closures or other unforeseen circumstances, evacuation could be difficult or impossible. Belarus is an important logistics hub for Chinese goods entering the EU, and new border restrictions could disrupt supply chains.

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Military intercepts. NATO and U.S. forces reported new incidents involving Russian aircraft. Over the Baltic Sea, Hungarian Gripen fighters intercepted five Russian jets — a Su-30, a Su-35 and three MiG-31s — near Latvian airspace. The same day, NORAD tracked two Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters in Alaska’s air defense identification zone, scrambling F-16s and an E-3 aircraft to escort them. In both cases, officials emphasized that the Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and that such activity is considered routine.

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Google and mining. Google acquired a 5.4% stake in Cipher Mining as part of a $3 billion deal with Fluidstack involving AI data centers. In exchange, the tech giant guaranteed $1.4 billion of Fluidstack’s obligations to Cipher. Earlier, Google became the largest shareholder of Bitcoin miner TeraWulf with a 14% stake under a similar arrangement. The deal underscores the growing convergence between Bitcoin mining and the artificial intelligence industry.

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Market reaction

Wall Street and inflation expectations. Investors are awaiting August’s personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, which could influence the pace of interest rate cuts. On Thursday, major indexes closed lower: the S&P 500 is down 0.9% for the week, the Nasdaq Composite 1.1%, and the Dow Jones 0.8%. The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed to 4.2%. Shares of leading AI companies, including Oracle (–5.6%), Meta and Tesla, also fell, fueling concerns of overheated tech valuations.

Asian equities. Markets in Asia ended in the red amid Trump’s new tariff announcements and revised Fed rate cut expectations. Pharmaceutical stocks were hit hardest: the Topix Pharma Index fell 1.47%, Daiichi Sankyo dropped 2.11%, Chugai 3.64% and Sumitomo Pharma more than 5%. South Korea’s Samsung Biologics and SK Bio Pharmaceuticals lost 1.71% and 3.71%, respectively, while in Hong Kong, Alibaba Health fell 2.92% and JD Health 2.23%. The Nikkei 225 ended flat, Kospi in Seoul fell more than 2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.86%.

Oil. Oil prices extended gains on Friday, securing a weekly increase of more than 4% — the steepest since June. Brent futures rose 0.2% to $69.57 per barrel, while WTI climbed 0.4% to $65.21. Prices were supported by Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and Moscow’s subsequent fuel export restrictions.

Cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin fell to a two-week low of $108,865. The drop was driven by liquidations of long positions and strong selling from institutional investors. However, spot markets showed signs of renewed demand: the bid/ask ratio shifted in favor of buyers for the first time since early September, suggesting that some investors are prepared to defend the $110,000 level.

On September 24, the global agenda centered on energy, trade investigations and technology news. Bulgaria announced it would end Russian gas transit, the European Union prepared new tariffs on Russian oil, the Trump administration investigated imports of medical equipment and industrial robots, Intel held talks with Apple on potential investments, Xiaomi prepared to enter the European EV market, and South Korean internet giant Naver moved to acquire the country’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit.