Wall Street Plunges Amid Escalating U.S.-China Trade War and Tariff Fears

Wall Street suffered its steepest two-day drop since the pandemic, as mounting global trade tensions and sweeping tariffs imposed by the Trump administration triggered a major market selloff. The Nasdaq Composite officially entered a bear market Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average confirmed a correction.

Over Thursday and Friday, the Dow fell 9.3%, the S&P 500 dropped 10.5%, and the Nasdaq plunged 11.4%. The selloff wiped trillions off U.S. company valuations, with the CBOE Volatility Index hitting its highest level since April 2020.

Investor panic surged after Trump raised tariffs to their highest level in over a century, prompting concerns over a looming global recession. Global responses added fuel to the fire—China’s finance ministry announced a 34% tariff on all U.S. goods starting April 10, while leaders from the UK, Australia, and Italy discussed retaliation.

On Friday alone, the Nasdaq dropped 962.82 points (5.82%) to 15,587.79, the Dow fell 2,231.07 points (5.50%) to 38,314.86, and the S&P 500 slid 322.44 points (5.97%) to 5,074.08—its lowest close in 11 months. Weekly losses stood at 10% for the Nasdaq, 9.1% for the S&P 500, and 7.9% for the Dow.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned the tariffs could spark inflation and slow growth, possibly influencing future monetary policy. The 10-year Treasury yield dipped below 4%, adding pressure to bank stocks, with the S&P Banks index dropping 7.3%.

All 11 S&P sectors fell over 4.5%, with energy leading losses, down 8.7% as U.S. crude slid 7.3%. Tech and China-exposed stocks plunged, including Apple (-7.3%), Alibaba, and JD.com (both down over 7.7%). Chipmakers, heavily reliant on U.S.-China supply chains, dropped another 7.6%.