*

Stocks and oil tumble after Trump tariff plans

*

Bonds, yen and other traditional safe havens rally

*

Fears of global recession mount, Asia hit hard

By Marc Jones

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - World stock markets and oil

prices tumbled and investors dashed to the relative safety of

bonds, gold and the yen on Thursday, as President Donald Trump's

drastic U.S. trade tariffs stirred widespread fears of a global

recession.

A new baseline 10% tariff on imported goods plus some

eye-watering additional 'reciprocal' tariffs on countries Trump

said put high trade barriers on the U.S., left traders clearly

rattled.

In Europe, where the 27 country EU bloc now faces a 20%

reciprocal levy, bourses lurched between 1.3% and 2% lower early

on as Brussels and other capitals in the region were left in

uproar.

Tokyo had slumped 2.7% in Asia overnight to leave it

on course for its worst week in nearly two years. Wall

Street futures were down 3%, while the dollar

dropped more that 1% to a six-month low.

Analysts at JPMorgan said the tariffs were, "significantly

higher than the realistic worst-case scenario" they have been

envisaging.

Credit rating agency Fitch warned they were a "game-changer"

for both the U.S. and global economy, while Deutsche Bank called

them a "once-in-a-lifetime" event that could easily knock

between 1%-1.5% off U.S. growth this year.

"Many countries will likely end up in a recession," Fitch's

Olu Sonola said. "You can throw most forecasts out the door if

this tariff rate stays on for an extended period of time."

The scramble for ultra-safe government bonds that provide a

guaranteed income drove U.S. Treasury yields down towards 4% and

Germany's 10-year yield, the European benchmark

borrowing rate, went 8.5 basis points lower to 2.64%.

The sweeping tariffs will raise effective import taxes in

the world's largest economy to the highest levels in a century.

If they do trigger recessions, central banks around the world

are likely to slash interest rates which benefits bonds.

Nasdaq futures were down 3.2% ahead of what was expected to

be a turbulent U.S. restart.

Apple's ( AAPL ) market capitalisation had dropped by more

than $240 billion as its shares slid 7% in after-hours trade on

Wednesday. Nvidia's ( NVDA ) market cap dropped 5.6% or $153

billion, adding to the trillions wiped off the 'Magnificent

Seven' tech giants already this year.

Trump levies hit Asia particularly hard.

China was slapped with a 34% levy, Japan got 24%, South

Korea 25% and Vietnam 46%. Vietnamese stocks tumbled 6.7%

in response. Australian shares and the Aussie dollar also fell

as the country was hit too.

CHINA FOCUS

With countries from China and Canada to Europe all promising

countermeasures, investors were selling exposure to global

growth.

Oil, a proxy for economic activity, dropped as much 3% to

put benchmark Brent futures back below $73 a barrel and

on course for its worst day of the year so far.

Gold hit a record high above $3,160 an ounce before

running out of steam while Japan's yen jumped more than 1.5% to

147.01 per dollar as foreign exchange traders looked for

safety outside the U.S. dollar.

The Swiss franc, another traditional safety play,

touched its strongest level in four months as the euro

jumped 1% too to $1.0970.

"Eye-watering tariffs on a country-by-country basis scream

'negotiation tactic', which will keep markets on edge for the

foreseeable future," said Adam Hetts, global head of multi-asset

and portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors.

China held its currency relatively steady, containing the

yuan's drop to about 0.4% despite total tariffs of above 50% on

Chinese exports and the hit to Vietnam seen as shutting down a

popular work-around route.

China's big domestic economy and the hope of support from

Beijing limited losses in Hong Kong stocks to about 1.5%

and in Shanghai to around 0.5%.

"The key focus over the next few days should clearly be

China," said Deutsche Bank strategist George Saravelos.

"How willing will China be to wait for trade negotiations

... or to absorb this?," he said. "Or will it try to 'export'

the shock ... via a devaluation of the yuan."

(Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore

Editing by Shri Navaratnam)