- The Dow Jones fell 4%, the S&P 500 fell nearly 5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dove nearly 6% as investors reacted to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. It’s the worst single trading day for the stock market in years.
- Some countries are considering retaliation against the U.S. for imposing steep tariffs.
- Global markets also fell Thursday, April 3, the first chance for traders to react since Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs.
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The stock market took its steepest dive in years on Thursday, April 3, as traders reacted to President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 1,600 points, the biggest hit to the index since 2020.
The S&P 500 fell nearly 5% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged nearly 6%. The 500 largest companies lost nearly $2 trillion in value in a single day.
Apple fell more than 9%, Amazon also fell 9% and Nvidia was down nearly 8% at the close. Nike took a 14% hit, while Target was down nearly 11%.
The U.S. was not alone in the rout. Global markets also fell, with benchmarks in Europe and Asia losing around 3%.
“I think it’s going very well,” President Donald Trump said when asked about his tariffs on Thursday. “The markets are going to boom.”
How much is the US planning to charge?
It’s the first time investors in the U.S. had the opportunity to react since Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs. All U.S. imports will be subject to a 10% tariff starting April 5. The varying tariff levels calculated by trade deficits will go into effect on April 9.
China will face a new 34% tariff on top of the existing 20% tariff Trump previously imposed. Canada and Mexico were excluded from the latest round due to the 25% tariffs already planned.
Some countries are vowing to retaliate against the U.S. and Trump’s tariff policies, while others are hoping to negotiate their position.
The White House kept quiet about the exact details of the Liberation Day tariffs until the Wednesday afternoon announcement, which occurred after the stock market closed.
“For nations that treat us badly, we will calculate the combined rate of all their tariffs, nonmonetary barriers and other forms of cheating,” Trump said on April 2.
Liberation Day was a promise to apply reciprocal tariffs to countries around the globe. However, the calculation appears to rely on import and export data, not tariffs.
For how the Trump administration calculated the rates to charge trading partners, click here.
