Major United States benchmark averages tumbled to multi-month lows on Thursday (Friday AEDT), with the S&P 500 recording its worst single-day decline since 2020 after President Donald Trump announced broad tariffs, escalating fears of a global trade war and economic downturn.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1,679.4 points, or 4%, to close at 40,545.9. The S&P 500 slumped 4.8% to 5,396.5, while the Nasdaq Composite plummeted 6% to 16,550.6, marking its sharpest fall since March 2020.
Multinational corporations bore the brunt of the sell-off. Nike plunged 14.4%, while Apple dropped 9.3%.
Retailers that rely heavily on imports also suffered, with Five Below tumbling nearly 27.8%, Dollar Tree down 13.3%, and Gap losing 20.3%.
Technology stocks faced significant losses amid the risk-off sentiment. Nvidia slid 7.8%, Tesla declined 5.5%, Microsoft shed 2.4%, and Amazon dropped 9%.
The tariff measures, which include a 10% baseline duty on all imports, take effect on April 5, with additional levies on countries imposing higher tariffs on U.S. goods set to follow.
Addressing the market turmoil, Trump compared the tariff implementation to a medical procedure. “The markets are going to boom. The stock is going to boom. The country is going to boom,” he stated. “And the rest of the world wants to see if there’s any way they can make a deal.”
Meanwhile, in bond markets, the 10-year Treasury yield declined 2.2% to 4.036%, while the 2-year yield dropped 3.8% to 3.696%.
