U.S. Markets Plunge After "Liberation Day" Tariff Shock

U.S. equities suffered a dramatic sell-off on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding nearly 1,700 points, while both the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 recorded their steepest single-day drops since 2020. The plunge followed President Trump’s unexpected announcement of aggressive "Liberation Day" tariffs, which sent tremors through global financial markets.

The Nasdaq Composite , which is heavily weighted toward tech stocks, experienced the sharpest decline, falling 6%. The S&P 500 dropped close to 5%, and the Dow sank 4%, marking one of the biggest one-day point losses in the index’s history — the fifth-largest to date.

Among the major tech names, Apple (AAPL) saw its stock plunge by more than 9% due to investor anxiety over potential disruptions to its supply chain. The company sources critical iPhone components from China, which was hit with additional tariffs, raising the country’s overall duty rate to 54%. This put Apple on track for its worst trading session since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Nvidia (NVDA) and other semiconductor companies also saw sharp declines. The AI chip giant lost over 7% amid similar supply chain concerns. The group of dominant tech stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven”, which had been driving market gains over the last two years, was collectively on pace to lose around $800 billion in market capitalization.

Small-cap stocks were not spared either. The Russell 2000 index declined more than 6.4%, bringing it close to bear market territory by the end of the trading day.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell by approximately 14 basis points, settling at 4.05% — a level not seen since October 2024. Simultaneously, the U.S. dollar index slipped 1.5% to 101.92, also touching its lowest mark since October 2024.

Details of the Tariff Plan

The tariff policy revealed by Trump on Wednesday involves a two-phase strategy. A base tariff rate of 10% will be applied universally to all U.S. trading partners, while nations labeled as "bad actors" in trade will face significantly higher levies. These tariffs are scheduled to take effect in two rounds, starting on April 5 and April 9.

In total, the tariffs impact around 185 countries, setting the effective U.S. tariff level at its highest point in over a century.

Markets will eventually "boom."

That was President Trump’s response when asked about the sharp downturn in the stock market, as he sought to minimize concerns over investor reaction to the sweeping trade measures.

This article was written by: Anonymous

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