Global markets on Thursday were severely rattled by President Donald Trump’s historic tariff announcement, which threatens to throw the US and the rest of the world into a recession.
The Dow fell 1,679 points, or 3.98%. The broader S&P 500 was down by 4.84% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 5.97%. All three major indexes posted their biggest single-day drop since 2020.
Global markets also fell sharply Thursday. Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600 index tumbled 2.57%, erasing its gains since January. Germany’s DAX index fell 3%. France’s benchmark index slumped 3.31%, its biggest single-day drop since July 2023. Italy’s benchmark index slumped 3.6%, its biggest single-day drop since March 2023.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 2.77% and Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index fell 1.52%.
The significant declines come after Trump’s massive tariffs imposed on practically all goods coming into the United States sparked fears that the new policy could trigger significant backlash from trading partners and take down the global economy.
That’s part of the reason the US dollar fell to its weakest level since October on Thursday, wiping out its gains since Trump’s reelection in November. Tariffs in theory should boost the dollar, but investors’ concerns that the United States is creating a self-inflicted wound that would stymie its long-term growth sent the dollar sinking against other global currencies.
Treasury bond yields fell sharply after Trump’s announcement on Wednesday and continued to slide Thursday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.05% Thursday, its lowest level since October. Bond yields and prices trade in opposite directions.
Chip Hughey, managing director for fixed income at Truist Advisory Services, said investors snapped up bonds because of concerns about “the drag that the policy uncertainty plus stricter tariffs will have on growth going forward.”
Investors poured money into safe-haven assets. Gold surged to a new record Wednesday above $3,160 a troy ounce. Gold, which hovered above $3,100 a troy ounce Thursday, is up 19% this year and just posted its best quarter since 1986.
The S&P 500 closed in correction, down 12.17% from its record high in February (a correction means down more than 10% from a recent high). The Nasdaq, which has been in correction, closed down 17.96% from its record high in December. The Dow closed down 9.93% from its record high in December, approaching correction territory.
