Financial markets around the world reeled following President Trump's latest and most severe set of tariffs, and the US stock market took the worst of it, registering a level of shock unseen since the pandemic tore through financial markets in 2020.
- The S&P 500 fell 274.45 points, or 4.8%, to 5,396.52 in its worst day since June 2020, CNBC reports.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,679.39 points, or 4%, to 40,545.93, also having its worst day since June 2020.
- The Nasdaq composite sank 1,050.44, or 6%, to 16,550.61 in its worst day since March 2020.
Little was spared as fear flared globally about the potentially toxic mix of weakening economic growth and higher inflation that tariffs can create, the
AP reports. Everything from crude oil to Big Tech stocks to the value of the US dollar against other currencies fell. Even gold pulled lower.
Worries about a potentially stagnating economy and high inflation knocked down all kinds of stocks, leading to drops for three out of every four that make up the S&P 500. Best Buy fell 17.8% because the electronics that it sells are made all over the world. United Airlines lost 15.6% because customers worried about the global economy may not fly as much for business or feel comfortable enough to take vacations. Target tumbled 10.8% amid worries that its customers, already squeezed by still-high inflation, may be under even more stress.
Investors worldwide knew Trump was going to announce a sweeping set of tariffs late Wednesday, and fears surrounding the move had already pulled Wall Street's main measure of health, the S&P 500 index, 10% below its all-time high. But Trump still managed to surprise them with "the worst case scenario for tariffs," according to Mary Ann Bartels, chief investment officer at Sanctuary Wealth. It's "plausible" that the tariffs, which would rival levels unseen in roughly a century, could knock down US economic growth by 2 percentage points this year and raise inflation close to 5%, according to UBS.
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Indexes fell sharply worldwide. France's CAC 40 dropped 3.3%, and Germany's DAX lost 3% in Europe. Japan's Nikkei 225 sank 2.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.5%, and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.8%.
- Trump offered an upbeat reaction after he was asked about the market's drop as he left the White House to fly to his Florida golf club on Thursday. "I think it's going very well," he said. "We have an operation, like when a patient gets operated on and it's a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is." He added: "The markets are going to boom. The stock is going to boom. The country is going to boom."
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