- Trump's Wednesday announcement of tariffs on almost all imports to the U.S. caused drops in global and U.S. stock markets.
- The U.S. stock market saw drops in shares of major companies such as Apple, Amazon and Walmart.
- Drops in shares were also seen in foreign companies such as Samsung, Adidas and Puma.
One day after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on almost all imports into the country, stock markets around the world and in the U.S. have plummeted.
This plunge came after Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, along with specific taxes on about 60 countries.
According to The New York Times, the market reactions indicate that the scale of tariffs announced on Wednesday was a surprise.
Uncertainty around the tariffs levels, along with how long they will last, has made it difficult for experts and policymakers to conclude the potential impacts for consumers, businesses and the economy as a whole.
“The numbers are shockingly high compared to what people were expecting and it is inexplicable in many ways. I think it’s a disaster,” said Peter Tchir, head of macro strategy at Academy Securities, per The New York Times.
The impact on the U.S. stock market
U.S. stocks plummeted when the markets opened on Thursday morning, with the S&P 500 falling 3.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.6% and Nasdaq dropping by 4.3%, according to NBC.
Within the first few minutes of trading, these drops in stock wiped out trillions of dollars in value.
There were also hard hits to retail stocks, due to tariffs as high as 54% on major manufacturing and exporting countries such as China, per NBC. Ralph Lauren dropped 11.5%, Nike went down 11% and Lululemon fell 10%.
According to The New York Times, tech stocks were also deeply impacted, Apple’s shares were down over 8%, Amazon was down more than 6% and Nvidia dropped over 5%.
Drops were also seen in stocks of major box store chains such as Target and Walmart, due to those companies importing goods from Southeast Asia, per USA Today. There were impacts to the small business markets as well.
Along with the drops in the stock market, the value of the U.S. dollar also dropped more than 2% against multiple other major currencies, according to The New York Times. Thursday was the worst day for the dollar since 2022.
Global markets
There were also major drops in markets around the world.
On Thursday, Japan’s main stock index fell 2.7%, Europe’s Stoxx 600 slid 2.2% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 1.5%, per NBC. German, Italian and French markets had each fallen around 3%.
European companies popular in the U.S. also saw major declines in shares, per The New York Times. German companies Puma and Adidas both fell, with Puma down 12% and Adidas down 9%. Danish jewelry company Pandora, which makes its products in Thailand, dropped 12%.
Major European banks such as Deutsche Banks and Commerzbank dropped more than 4%.
Stocks fell for a wide range of Asian companies, including semiconductor and technology giants along with large auto exporters.
Shares in Toyota, a Japanese automaker, fell over 5% on Thursday. South Korean company Samsung Electronics declined almost 3%, per The New York Times.