President Nikos Christodoulides rang the New York stock exchange closing bell at the close of business on Friday.

His participation in the ceremony was described as “an emblematic ceremony with intense symbolism” as he continued his visit to encourage US investment in Cyprus.

But he had the misfortune to close the markets at the end of one of the worst weeks for trading in recent memory, with all three major stock indexes in the United States falling more than five per cent and the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropping six per cent on Friday alone, in the wake of the staggering tariff hikes announced on Thursday.

The S&P 500 lost $5 trillion on Thursday and Friday, outstripping its two-day loss of $3.3 trillion from March 2020 when the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic played havoc with global markets.

The BBC said the stock market was in “turmoil” which “deepened on Friday”, while British newspaper The Guardian described the week as “brutal”.

Despite the backdrop of trading turmoil, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis was keen to point out that Christodoulides’ participation in the ceremony and the flying of the Cypriot flag at the stock exchange “enhances the international visibility of our country”.

Christodoulides attended the ceremony upon the invite of Cypriot shipping company SafeBulkers, which describes itself as “an international provider of marine dry-bulk transportation services, transporting primarily grain, coal, and iron ore worldwide”.

The company is listed on the New York stock exchange and was not immune from the global turmoil, losing almost eight per cent of its stock value on Friday..