Following the implementation of the latest tariff policy in the United States, the three major stock indexes plunged on Thursday (April 3) since the opening. The Dow Jones Index plummeted by 1,200 points, while the S&P 500 Index saw its largest drop in two years.
On Wednesday (April 2), U.S. President Trump announced new tariffs of at least 10% or higher on some countries, intensifying the risks of a global trade war.
At the opening on Wednesday, Wall Street stocks fell as the latest tariffs in the U.S. heightened investors’ concerns about trade wars and global economic recession. Apart from the U.S. stocks, global stock markets also followed suit with selling off.
Investors anticipate a period of uncertainty in the market, along with expectations of retaliations from other countries and ongoing negotiations with the U.S.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 1,200 points, a decline of over 2%. The S&P fell by 3.4% in early trading, marking its largest single-day drop since September 2022. The Nasdaq Index saw a decline of 3.8%.
The stock prices of multinational companies plummeted in pre-market trading. Nike’s stock price dropped by 11%, hitting a low not seen since November 2017, while Apple’s stock fell by 7% at the beginning of trading.
U.S. retail enterprises that import affordable goods were hit the hardest, with Five Below dropping by 16%, Dollar Tree by 11%, and Gap, a clothing retailer, down nearly 12%.
Driven by overall risk aversion, tech stocks declined with Nvidia, a chip company, falling by 5%, and electric car maker Tesla also sliding by 5%.
At 9:00 am EST, the yield on the U.S. 5-year Treasury note dropped by 15 basis points to 3.73%.
Spot gold prices fell below $3060 per ounce, a decrease of 2.46% intraday, currently trading at $3057.34 per ounce.
The Trump administration has imposed high tariffs on over 180 countries and regions, with several in the Asia-Pacific region. On Thursday, the Asia-Pacific markets saw a sharp decline.
The Japanese stock market led the decline in Asia. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index initially dropped by over 4% at its lowest point, but saw a slight recovery by Thursday’s close to end down by 2.77% at 34,735.93 points. The broader Topix Index closed down by 3.08% at 2,568.61 points.
South Korea’s Composite Index fell by over 3%, ultimately dropping by 0.76% to 2,486.70 points, while the small-cap Kosdaq Index declined by 0.2% to 683.49 points.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 Index fell by 0.59% to close at 3,861.50 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped by 1.52% to 22,849.81 points.
As of 1:45 pm local time, India’s benchmark Nifty50 Index fell by 0.26%, while the broader BSE Sensex Index declined by 0.36%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX200 Index dropped by 0.94% to close at 7,859.70 points.
By 4:20 pm Singapore time, spot gold prices hit a historic high, trading at $3,130.19 per ounce, with investors rushing to buy the precious metal.
European stock index futures tumbled on Thursday.
As of 06:58 GMT, the Euro Stoxx 50 Index and Germany’s DAX Index futures both dropped by about 2.3%, while the FTSE 100 Index futures fell by approximately 1.7%.
The UK’s Russell 2000 Index fell by 4.5%, signaling a bear market trend.