With the value of US stocks plummeting by $6.6 trillion, Wall Street had its greatest two-day meltdown in history.
As it appears more possible that the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump will trigger a worldwide recession, equities fell sharply yesterday and then again on Friday.
According to MarketWatch’s research of Dow Jones Market Data, US stocks have lost around $11.1 trillion in value since January 17, the Friday before President Trump took office for a second term.
According to the data, almost $6.6 trillion of that was lost on Thursday and Friday alone, making it the largest two-day loss of shareholder wealth ever.
Though never as great in terms of dollars, markets have experienced larger percentage declines, such as the 25% decline that occurred in 1929 between October 28 and 29.
Ordinary Americans whose retirement funds, such as 401(K)s, are dependent on the market have been impacted by this week’s chaos.
The S&P 500 was down 5.97 percent at 4 p.m. when New York markets closed. The Dow Jones fell 5.5 percent, and the Nasdaq fell 5.82 percent.
This comes after the three main US indices saw losses of between 4 and 6 percent on Thursday. It was the worst for the S&P 500 since the economic collapse caused by the epidemic in March 2020.
China imposed new tariffs on all US goods at midnight in retaliation for President Trump’s broad duties announced on Wednesday, which further escalated a global trade war and led to a selloff on Friday.
Americans who were frightened and checking their 401(K)s, IRAs, and trading apps were told to wait and not panic sell despite the chaos. If they don’t have a financial advisor, they should look for one and consult the professionals overseeing their finances.
According to some analysts, the suffering will be temporary, and equities will rise again. Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank believes Trump has a good idea.
The trade war hasn’t produced many, if any, financial market winners thus far. Friday saw a decline in the stocks of all but 12 of the 500 businesses that comprise the S&P 500 index.
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The fact that oil prices dropped by as much as 8% indicates that investors think shipping between the United States and the rest of the world will soon stop.
Gold, a conventional safe haven that recently reached all-time highs, also declined.
“The world has changed, and the economic conditions have changed,” said Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock.
Looking ahead, the main concern is: Will the trade war lead to a worldwide recession? In the event that it happens, stock prices will probably decline even further. The S&P 500 has dropped 17.4% from its February peak.
Global financial markets have been rocked by the tariffs, which have sparked concerns about a global economic collapse and steep price increases in a variety of industries in the largest consumer market in the world.
“The Trump administration may be playing a game of chicken with trading partners, but market participants aren’t willing to wait around for the results,” Michael Arone, investment expert at State Street Global Advisors said.
“Investors are selling first and asking questions later.”
The ‘baseline’ 10 percent tariff that Trump has set on global imports is scheduled to take effect early Saturday morning.
Next week, the tariff rates of many other nations will rise above that, including China at 34% and the EU at 20%. On Thursday, all foreign automobile imports into the US were subject to a 25 percent duty.
China’s finance ministry announced that starting on April 10, all US goods would be subject to a comparable 34% duty.
Global financial markets have been rocked by the tariffs, which have sparked concerns about a global economic collapse and steep price increases in a variety of industries in the largest consumer market in the world.
One area of brightness The jobs data on Friday was shockingly good. Last month, 228,000 new employment were created in the US.
