US stocks are on course to have lost almost 8 per cent during the rollercoaster first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second term — the worst start for a new administration since Gerald Ford assumed the presidency five decades ago.

Wall Street’s S&P 500 was down 0.4 per cent on Tuesday morning. It has declined 8 per cent since inauguration day as Trump’s aggressive trade agenda has unleashed waves of volatility that have rocked investors’ faith in America’s growth prospects and fuelled concerns about a tariff-induced inflation rebound in the world’s biggest economy.

The blue-chip index, which hit a record high in mid February, last fell further over the course of a president’s first 100 days in office in the second half of 1974, when Ford entered the White House following the resignation of Richard Nixon, according to Financial Times calculations based on FactSet data.