US markets witness bloodbath after Trump's tariffs announcement

04 Apr 2025 Evaluate

The U.S. markets witnessed heavy selling pressure and ended significantly lower on Thursday, after Trump delivered a highly anticipated speech on Wednesday outlining his plan to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners. Trump's ‘reciprocal tariff’ plan calls for a baseline 10 percent tariff to be imposed on all U.S. imports except those compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Certain countries deemed the ‘worst offenders’ will face much higher tariffs, with countries like Cambodia, Laos, Madagascar and Vietnam set to be charged nearly 50 percent. Sentiment also dampened with Institute for Supply Management stating that services PMI fell to 50.8 in March after inching up to 53.5 in February. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth, street had expected the index to show a more modest decrease to 53.0. 

On sectorial front, Computer hardware stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index plummeting by 13.6 percent to its lowest closing level in over a year. Substantial weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 9.9 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index also plunged to a one-year closing low. Banking stocks also showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the KBW Bank Index down by 9.9 percent to its lowest intraday level in almost seven months. Networking, oil producer and transportation stocks also saw considerable weakness amid a broad-based sell-off on Wall Street.

Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1,679.39 points or 3.98 percent to 40,545.93, Nasdaq fell 1,050.44 points or 5.97 percent to 16,550.61 and S&P 500 was down by 274.45 points or 4.84 percent to 5,396.52.


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