A brutal week on Wall Street ended with $5 trillion wiped off the US stock market , as investors recoiled from former President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff hikes. The S&P 500 plummeted 6%, marking its worst weekly performance since March 2020 when the pandemic wreaked havoc on the global economy. Fears of a looming global recession have now intensified as Trump reignited a full-blown trade war.
Despite a stronger-than-expected jobs report, confidence was shattered after Trump slapped steep new import duties on dozens of countries, prompting swift retaliation—most notably from China. Investors hoping for relief from the Federal Reserve were left disappointed as Chair Jerome Powell took a cautious “wait and see” stance on rate cuts.
Market meltdown, global fallout
China hit back with a 34% tariff on all US imports, effective April 10, matching Trump’s latest move. The response accelerated global market losses and sent shockwaves through trade-heavy industries.
Major US trading partners such as Japan, the EU, and Canada began preparing countermeasures. Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs, the EU floated a digital tax on US tech firms, and Tokyo urged calm as it faced 24% tariffs on exports.
Trump unfazed: 'ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL'
From his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump remained defiant, calling the economic chaos a necessary “operation” to fix the trade imbalance. “ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!” he posted on Truth Social. He dismissed market declines as an opportunity: “This is a great time to get rich.”
Trump’s tariffs also included a blanket 25% on all foreign-made cars, prompting swift reactions. Nissan reconsidered cuts to US production, while Volvo (owned by China’s Geely) pledged to ramp up manufacturing in America.
Fed Chair warns
Fed Chair Powell warned that tariffs could fuel “higher inflation and lower growth” and resisted calls to cut interest rates, citing the risk of unanchored inflation expectations. “Our obligation is to make certain that a one-time increase in price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem,” he said.
Trump, in his usual combative style, pushed back: “CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!”
The tariffs drew rare bipartisan criticism. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said Trump was “messing around with people’s lives… while he’s out golfing,” and even Republican Senator Ted Cruz warned the policy could “hurt jobs and hurt America.”
Despite a stronger-than-expected jobs report, confidence was shattered after Trump slapped steep new import duties on dozens of countries, prompting swift retaliation—most notably from China. Investors hoping for relief from the Federal Reserve were left disappointed as Chair Jerome Powell took a cautious “wait and see” stance on rate cuts.
Market meltdown, global fallout
- The S&P 500 lost 6%, translating to a staggering $5 trillion in market capitalisation wiped in just two days.
- Dow Jones dropped 2,231 points (5.5%) while the Nasdaq tumbled 5.8%, dragging it into bear market territory—over 20% below its record high.
- Oil prices sank to their lowest since 2021; copper and other commodities also slumped on recession fears.
- Just 14 companies out of 500 in the S&P 500 saw gains on Friday.
China hit back with a 34% tariff on all US imports, effective April 10, matching Trump’s latest move. The response accelerated global market losses and sent shockwaves through trade-heavy industries.
Major US trading partners such as Japan, the EU, and Canada began preparing countermeasures. Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs, the EU floated a digital tax on US tech firms, and Tokyo urged calm as it faced 24% tariffs on exports.
Trump unfazed: 'ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL'
From his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump remained defiant, calling the economic chaos a necessary “operation” to fix the trade imbalance. “ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!” he posted on Truth Social. He dismissed market declines as an opportunity: “This is a great time to get rich.”
- GE Healthcare, which earns 12% of revenue from China, fell 16%.
- DuPont slid 12.7% amid an anti-trust probe by Chinese regulators.
- Nintendo delayed preorders for the Switch 2 due to “evolving” trade conditions.
- Automakers like Stellantis halted production at North American plants.
Trump’s tariffs also included a blanket 25% on all foreign-made cars, prompting swift reactions. Nissan reconsidered cuts to US production, while Volvo (owned by China’s Geely) pledged to ramp up manufacturing in America.
Fed Chair warns
Fed Chair Powell warned that tariffs could fuel “higher inflation and lower growth” and resisted calls to cut interest rates, citing the risk of unanchored inflation expectations. “Our obligation is to make certain that a one-time increase in price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem,” he said.
Trump, in his usual combative style, pushed back: “CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!”
The tariffs drew rare bipartisan criticism. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said Trump was “messing around with people’s lives… while he’s out golfing,” and even Republican Senator Ted Cruz warned the policy could “hurt jobs and hurt America.”
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