Wall Street Plummets: Dow Drops 1,200+ Points Amid Tariff Fears

On Thursday, Wall Street opened with a huge drop as the Dow Jones lost more than 1,200 points early in the day. This steep decline was driven by worries about a slowdown in the U.S. economy after President Trump announced new tariffs on imports. Major companies like Apple, NVIDIA, Amazon, Nike, and Goldman Sachs saw their stocks fall up to 12%.

Apple dropped 8% because a hefty 54% tariff was imposed on products from China, where many of its iPhones are made. Other tech giants like Microsoft and NVIDIA also experienced losses, with Microsoft down 3% and NVIDIA falling 5.6%.

By 10:07 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones was down about 1,400 points (around 3.32%), standing at 40,824.85. The S&P 500 fell down 218.88 points (around 3.86%) to 5,452.00, and the Nasdaq plummeted 847.60 points (about 4.82%) to 16,753.44.

European markets were also not doing well, with major indices like the UK’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX falling by more than 2%. France’s CAC 40, Spain’s IBEX 35, and the Stoxx 600 also saw losses of up to 3%.

Mary Ann Bartels, an expert at Sanctuary Wealth, explained that investors were already worried about the tariffs before Trump’s announcement, causing the S&P 500 to drop 10% from its peak. Trump introduced a minimum tariff of 10% on imports from all countries, with higher taxes on specific countries like China (34%) and India (26%).

Experts predict these tariffs could lower U.S. economic growth by 2% this year and increase inflation to nearly 5%. Treasury yields fell as investors expect interest rates to drop. The ten-year Treasury yield decreased to 4.03% from 4.20% late Wednesday.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures market anxiety, reached a three-week high. These tariffs mark a significant change from a few months ago when business-friendly policies led U.S. stocks to reach record highs. Traders now expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at least three times this year.

Friday’s jobs report and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech will be important for understanding the economy and interest rates. On Thursday, data showed fewer Americans applying for unemployment benefits, indicating job stability.

Retail stocks took a hit, with Nike dropping by 11% and Ralph Lauren falling by 12% after new tariffs affected production in Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. Big banks like Citigroup and Bank of America also fell over 8%, while JPMorgan Chase lost 4.5%.

The small-cap Russell 2000 index went down by 4%, raising concerns about the domestic economy. Oil stocks, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron, fell around 3.5% as crude prices dropped by 6%.

On the NYSE, declining stocks outnumbered winners by a ratio of 5.33-to-1, and on the Nasdaq, the ratio was 5.79-to-1. The S&P 500 saw 28 new 52-week highs but 50 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded only 13 new highs and 316 new lows.