United States stock futures plunged late Wednesday as investors reacted to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement, sparking concerns over a deepening trade war and potential economic disruption.
Dow futures tumbled more than 1,100 points, or 2.7%, while S&P 500 futures sank 3.9%. Nasdaq 100 futures took the hardest hit, plummeting 4.7% in after-hours trading.
The sharp decline followed a day of gains in the stock market, which had closed higher ahead of Trump’s announcement. However, as the president unveiled his tariff strategy, visibly outlining the rate hikes on a chart—the market selloff began.
The impact was quickly felt across global markets. Asian stocks mostly sank on Thursday morning, mirroring Wall Street’s sharp reaction.
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Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled at least 4%, while South Korea’s KOSPI fell 2.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 2.4%. Taiwan’s TAIEX fluctuated, with its shares currently up less than 1%.
Market analysts had anticipated a more moderate tariff approach from Trump, but those expectations were shattered as he announced an across-the-board 10% tariff on all imports, with significantly higher rates targeting specific countries.
“Trump is enacting a very aggressive tariff policy, far more aggressive than most investors thought possible six months ago,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital. “Painful times for stock market investors.”
“While the market was positioned to bounce on a ‘less bad than expected’ tariff announcement, there is no way to spin today’s news as positive for the economy or stock market,” Ellerbroek added.
The selloff deepened into a full-scale rout Wednesday evening as investors absorbed the implications of Trump’s trade policy. Apple took a significant hit, tumbling more than 7% in after-hours trading, as the company’s China-dependent supply chain faces severe tariff costs.
Tesla and Amazon also suffered heavy losses, falling more than 6% and 5%, respectively. Nike plunged 7%, while Walmart dropped 6%.
“President Trump just finished his tariff speech at the White House and we would characterize this slate of tariffs as ‘worse than the worst case scenario’ the Street was fearing,” said Dan Ives, senior analyst at Wedbush Securities, in a note.
Ives noted that the most striking element of the announcement was the imposition of hefty reciprocal tariffs on China, bringing its rate to 54%.
Despite the market turmoil, the Trump administration appeared unconcerned. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed the stock selloff, telling Bloomberg it was “a Mag 7 problem, not a MAGA problem,” referring to the so-called “Magnificent Seven” group of tech giants, including Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Google, Tesla, and Nvidia.
Economists warn that Trump’s aggressive tariff measures could disrupt global supply chains, fuel inflation, and slow economic growth.
JoAnne Bianco, chief investment strategist at BondBloxx, noted that the US will continue to see heightened uncertainty and market volatility as investors assess the “detrimental economic impact” of Trump’s tariffs.
“The roller coaster ride continues as the initial leaks were positive … but then the details were released and they were far worse than expected,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.
Zaccarelli suggested that the only potential upside for investors could be that the tariffs serve as an opening move in broader trade negotiations.
“The silver lining for investors could be that this is only a starting point for negotiations with other countries and ultimately tariff rates will come down across the board — but for now traders are shooting first and asking questions later,” he said.
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