Updated April 04, 2025 at 16:43 PM ET
Wall Street plummeted for a second straight day on Friday, as President Trump's tariffs escalated a global trade war and wiped out trillions of dollars in value from the U.S. stock market.
The two-day selloff served as the financial community's most brutal warning yet about the potential fallout of Trump's trade policy. Investors, businesses, and consumers are all expressing mounting terror about how these sweeping new taxes could upend the global economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 2,200 points — or 5.5% — after dropping almost 4% on Friday.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the benchmark S&P 500, which tracks the largest U.S. companies, each also tumbled nearly 6% on Friday.
All told, the U.S. market lost more than $6 trillion in value over the past two days, according to the Wall Street Journal.
That selloff directly affected the retirement savings and other investments of a majority of U.S. consumers. About 60 percent of U.S. households own stocks, according to the Federal Reserve.
Trump shocked businesses, investors, and global trading partners on Wednesday, when he announced that his long-promised tariffs would affect almost all U.S. imports. He has imposed the taxes on U.S. allies and foes alike: Most U.S. imports will now face tariffs of at least 10 percent, with higher taxes on goods from the European Union, Japan, China, and dozens of other countries.
The global trade war intensified on Friday. China responded to Trump's taxes with a reciprocal 34% tariff on all U.S. imports; other countries are also likely to retaliate.
Shock and anger
Economists warn the new taxes will result in higher prices and slower growth in the United States — while spilling over into other countries and hurting the global economy.
Investment bank JPMorgan on Thursday warned that the tariffs are likely to push the U.S. and the world into a recession.
Businesses of all sizes reacted with shock and anger as they processed the sweeping costs that they — and their customers — will now have to pay to continue doing business.
Consumer spending is already slowing down, while consumer confidence has plummeted. And even a reassuring jobs report on Friday morning — with employers adding more jobs than expected last month — couldn't quiet widespread market fears about the outlook for the post-tariffs economy.
Copyright 2025 NPR