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Dow plunges over 2,000 points as China slaps retaliatory tariffs, tech stocks lead Wall Street meltdown

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Wall Street faced another brutal selloff on Friday, with major US stock indexes suffering their worst two-day decline since the pandemic era, as China fired back with sweeping retaliatory tariffs against American goods.

Investors are now bracing for a potential global recession sparked by escalating trade tensions under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank by a staggering 2,011 points, or 4.98%, marking its steepest one-day loss since June 2020.

Combined with Thursday’s 1,679-point plunge, the blue-chip index has now tumbled 14% from its recent record high as fears of a full-blown trade war with China intensify.

@PawlowskiMario

BREAKING: Dow Jones is down almost 2,000 points today only, and still falling. Trump’s trade war is nuking the market in real time— Tariffs backfired, allies retaliated, and now Wall Street is fucking bleeding.

12:09 AM · Apr 5, 2025

Read 12 replies

The S&P 500 Index followed suit, dropping 5.4% on Friday after shedding 4.84% the previous day.

The benchmark index is now down 17% from its peak, edging closer to bear market territory.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite crashed 5.5%, building on Thursday’s 6% loss, and is now 22% below its December high—an official bear market by Wall Street standards.

Investor anxiety surged after China’s Ministry of Commerce announced a hefty 34% tariff on all US goods, a move that dashed hopes for diplomatic negotiations and instead confirmed a tit-for-tat economic escalation.

The aggressive countermeasures sparked concerns that global supply chains and export-dependent industries would be severely disrupted.

Technology stocks bore the brunt of Friday’s market rout, with some of the largest U.S. firms suffering major losses due to their reliance on Chinese markets.

Apple shares plunged 7%, adding to a 13% weekly loss. Nvidia, a key player in artificial intelligence and semiconductor markets, dropped 8%. Tesla also took a beating, sinking 10% amid mounting trade-related uncertainty.

Large industrial exporters weren’t spared either. Boeing and Caterpillar, both heavily dependent on international demand, fell 9% and 6%, respectively, dragging down the Dow.

Beyond tariffs, Beijing ramped up pressure on American businesses by expanding its “unreliable entities list,” which targets companies accused of violating market rules. Additionally, Chinese regulators launched an antitrust probe into chemical giant DuPont, causing its stock to plunge 12%.

In a classic flight to safety, investors poured into government bonds. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note dipped below 4%, signaling a rush into safe-haven assets as equities crumbled.

Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)—commonly known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge”—spiked above 40, a level typically associated with intense market panic.

Amid the market chaos, the March jobs report painted a mixed picture.

The US economy added 228,000 nonfarm payrolls, but the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%.

President Trump, however, hailed the data on his Truth Social platform, claiming that his tariff strategy was already paying off.

As the trade war deepens, market participants are now closely watching for further retaliatory steps from Beijing and potential policy responses from the Federal Reserve, which is already grappling with inflationary pressures and slowing growth.

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