The Wall Street plunged on Thursday following US President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs announcement.
According to an AP report, S&P 500 was down 3.3% in early trading, worse than the drops for other major stock markets.
However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average crashed by 1,204 points, or 2.9%, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 4.3% lower.
According to an AFP report, hard-hit sectors included apparel, where Nike, Macy’s and Gap all suffered double-digit drops following fresh new large levies on China, Malaysia and other countries that are home to textile infrastructure.
ALSO READ: Trump stokes trade war as world reels from tariff shock
Apple, which relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its products, was another big loser, sinking 8.2 per cent. Amazon stocks fell 6.9 per cent, while Nvidia lost 4.9 per cent.
“Clearly what was announced was close to the worst-case scenario and markets were not prepared for that and are reacting accordingly,” Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones, told AFP.
The barrage of tariffs has raised worries that inflation could be revived in the United States while growth and employment could take a hit if other countries resort to counter-tariffs, the report added.
Prices fell for everything from crude oil to Big Tech stocks to small companies that invest only in US real estate. Even gold, which has hit records recently as investors sought something safer to own, pulled lower.
The value of the US dollar also slid against other currencies, including the euro and Canadian dollar, AP reported.
Trump’s sweeping new tariffs
Earlier on Thursday, Trump announced new tariffs on nearly all US trading partners — a 34 per cent tax on imports from China and 20 per cent on the European Union, among others.
ALSO READ: Donald Trump announces 26% tariff on imports from India: ‘A great friend but…’
The US president said he was acting to bring in hundreds of billions in new revenue to the US government and restore fairness to global trade.
“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” he said. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”
