(Sharecast News) - US stocks plummeted again on Friday, sending markets to their lowest levels in nearly a year, after China retaliated against Donald Trump's tariffs plans in the latest escalation of a trade war that has already hammered investor sentiment.
The Dow tumbled 5.5% to 38,314.86 while the S&P 500 sank 6.0% to 5,074.08, with both indices hitting their lowest levels since May 2024. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, dropped 5.8% to 15,587.79, its lowest close since April 2024.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said Friday's rout capped off a "horrible week for financial markets", estimating that around $5trn has been wiped off global stock markets since Wednesday's close.
Over the past two days combined, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have shed 9.3%, 10.5% and 11.4% respectively.
China on Friday hit back at the US with a 34% levy on all American-made products, matching tariffs imposed on Chinese goods coming into the States. Beijing also added a number of US firms to its so-called "unreliable entities list", asserting that the companies in question had broken market rules or contractual commitments, and launched an antitrust investigation into chemicals giant DuPont.
However, Trump seemingly ignored Wall Street's woes, stating that his "policies will never change" as he urged investors to pour more cash into the US.
"The escalation in tariffs is bad for US companies who buy goods from China, and vice versa, because their costs will go up. It's also bad for the world in general as we now have a repeat of the heightened geopolitical tensions between the US and China which dominated Trump's first term in office," Coatsworth said.
Comments from Jerome Powell were also making headlines after the Federal Reserve chair said that the US tariffs were "significantly larger than expected", as he warned that downside risks to the economy had increased.
"While tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation, it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent," Powell said. Up until Friday, Powell had characterised the likely effects of tariffs on prices as transitory.
Meanwhile, in a note late on Thursday, JPMorgan analysts raised the estimates for a probability of a recession to 60%, up from 40% before the tariffs announcement. "These policies, if sustained, would likely push the US and possibly global economy into recession this year," the bank said.
Non-farm payrolls largely ignored
Even the monthly non-farm payrolls report from the Department of Labor failed to lift the mood, with market participants firmly focused on tariff-related uncertainty, despite the US economy adding significantly more jobs than expected last month.
Non-farm payrolls increased by 228,000 in March, well ahead of the 135,000 increase expected by economists. However, payrolls data for the previous two months were revised down by a combined 48,000.
Meanwhile, average hourly earnings rose at a month-on-month pace of 0.3%, whilst the rate of unemployment ticked up by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.2%, both as expected.
Market movers
Multinationals with large exposure to China were notable fallers of the day, such as Apple, Tesla and Nvidia. For Apple specifically, 80% of its production capacity is thought to come from China.
Major banking names like Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase were also dropping on the back of recessionary fears. Economic concerns were also hitting manufacturing names like Deere, AGCO and Caterpillar.
Brookfield fell sharply after the infrastructure investor announced the acquisition of the Colonial Pipeline, buying out all five co-owners of the largest fuel transportation system in the US.
On the Dow, just one of its 30 constituents - Nike - finished in positive territory, bouncing back after heavy losses on Thursday.
Dow Jones - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $58.18 3.00%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.85 -11.50%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $28.75 -10.36%
Boeing Co. (BA) $138.07 -9.49%
3M Co. (MMM) $132.07 -9.18%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $146.47 -8.22%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $211.70 -8.05%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $246.17 -7.92%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $473.05 -7.91%
Visa Inc. (V) $323.73 -7.74%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $188.38 -7.29%
S&P 500 - Risers
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $7.18 7.98%
Gap Inc. (GAP) $19.13 7.23%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $129.32 4.55%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $101.62 3.57%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $66.35 3.22%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $58.18 3.00%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $112.51 2.43%
Target Corp. (TGT) $95.36 1.53%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $12.65 1.53%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $130.31 0.81%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $64.72 -21.50%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $25.67 -14.68%
Apache Corp. (APA) $15.18 -14.43%
Celanese Corp. (CE) $40.95 -13.16%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $29.60 -13.01%
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $83.51 -12.77%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $20.19 -12.73%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $123.37 -12.68%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $59.67 -12.02%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $29.70 -11.61%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $130.31 0.81%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $67.55 0.49%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $64.72 -21.50%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.85 -11.50%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $36.22 -11.03%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $60.26 -10.70%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $30.54 -10.57%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $239.43 -10.42%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $59.09 -9.40%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $8.50 -9.28%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $164.60 -9.00%
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.15 -8.91%
419.76 (4.95%)
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