Wall Street Faces Severe Decline as Trump Reinstates Tariffs
U.S. stock market experiences its worst day since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic due to newly announced tariffs.
On Thursday, April 3, 2025, Wall Street experienced a significant downturn, marking its worst performance since the peak impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The decline was triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs on all imports into the United States, a move that has reignited fears of a global trade war.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 3.46%, while the S&P 500, which encompasses the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S., dropped by 4.38%.
The technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite suffered the most, plummeting by 4.80%, reflecting concerns about the implications of the tariffs for companies reliant on production in Asia.
Notably, the combined losses of tech giants Apple and Nvidia approached half a trillion dollars.
Other sectors also faced substantial losses, including major textile and design companies such as Nike, which saw a decline of 14.4%, and Ralph Lauren, which fell by 16.2%.
Financial stocks also suffered, signaling troubling signs for the overall economy, alongside significant drops in airline stocks.
The ramifications were not confined to U.S. equities.
The price of oil recorded its worst day in three years, declining by more than 6%, while the U.S. dollar, which some analysts expected to strengthen amid Trump's protectionist policies, depreciated against other major currencies.
This depreciation prompted speculation about potential challenges in U.S. economic growth and a possible downturn in foreign investment.
In a press briefing following the market's sharp decline, President Trump expressed optimism, stating, "I think it’s going very well...
The markets are going to take off, the country is going to take off." However, the reaction to his remarks indicated widespread apprehension among investors.
Internationally, global markets reflected similar trends.
In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris fell by 3.31%, the DAX in Frankfurt dropped by 3.01%, the FTSE 100 in London declined by 1.55%, the IBEX 35 in Madrid decreased by 1.19%, and the FTSE MIB in Milan saw a drop of 3.60%.
In Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed down by 2.77%, while Shenzhen lost 1.40%, Hong Kong fell by 1.69%, Shanghai experienced a slight decrease of 0.24%, and Seoul was down 0.76%.
Spain's benchmark index, the IBEX 35, initially closed above the 13,000 points following a day of optimism, but mirrored the broader downtrend shortly thereafter, closing lower.
In particular, Spanish banking stocks suffered, with Banco Santander's shares declining by 5.20%, Bankinter by 4.71%, CaixaBank by 4.55%, BBVA by 1.53%, and Sabadell by 1.56%.
The underlying concern driving the decline in U.S. markets appears to be fears of a recession.
Analysts point to the potential repercussions of renewed tariffs on economic growth, both in the U.S. and Europe.
Notably, there have been warnings regarding the health of the U.S. economy, which has shown signs of recession, such as an inversion of the yield curve for the first time in two years.
Some financial analysts suggest that the recent tariff announcements could contribute to rising inflation, creating a scenario of stagflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 3.46%, while the S&P 500, which encompasses the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S., dropped by 4.38%.
The technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite suffered the most, plummeting by 4.80%, reflecting concerns about the implications of the tariffs for companies reliant on production in Asia.
Notably, the combined losses of tech giants Apple and Nvidia approached half a trillion dollars.
Other sectors also faced substantial losses, including major textile and design companies such as Nike, which saw a decline of 14.4%, and Ralph Lauren, which fell by 16.2%.
Financial stocks also suffered, signaling troubling signs for the overall economy, alongside significant drops in airline stocks.
The ramifications were not confined to U.S. equities.
The price of oil recorded its worst day in three years, declining by more than 6%, while the U.S. dollar, which some analysts expected to strengthen amid Trump's protectionist policies, depreciated against other major currencies.
This depreciation prompted speculation about potential challenges in U.S. economic growth and a possible downturn in foreign investment.
In a press briefing following the market's sharp decline, President Trump expressed optimism, stating, "I think it’s going very well...
The markets are going to take off, the country is going to take off." However, the reaction to his remarks indicated widespread apprehension among investors.
Internationally, global markets reflected similar trends.
In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris fell by 3.31%, the DAX in Frankfurt dropped by 3.01%, the FTSE 100 in London declined by 1.55%, the IBEX 35 in Madrid decreased by 1.19%, and the FTSE MIB in Milan saw a drop of 3.60%.
In Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed down by 2.77%, while Shenzhen lost 1.40%, Hong Kong fell by 1.69%, Shanghai experienced a slight decrease of 0.24%, and Seoul was down 0.76%.
Spain's benchmark index, the IBEX 35, initially closed above the 13,000 points following a day of optimism, but mirrored the broader downtrend shortly thereafter, closing lower.
In particular, Spanish banking stocks suffered, with Banco Santander's shares declining by 5.20%, Bankinter by 4.71%, CaixaBank by 4.55%, BBVA by 1.53%, and Sabadell by 1.56%.
The underlying concern driving the decline in U.S. markets appears to be fears of a recession.
Analysts point to the potential repercussions of renewed tariffs on economic growth, both in the U.S. and Europe.
Notably, there have been warnings regarding the health of the U.S. economy, which has shown signs of recession, such as an inversion of the yield curve for the first time in two years.
Some financial analysts suggest that the recent tariff announcements could contribute to rising inflation, creating a scenario of stagflation.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
