US open: Stocks sharply lower as Trump's tariffs rattle markets

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were firmly in the red at the open on Thursday as investors grew fearful that Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs will lead to a global trade war that could hurt an already struggling US economy.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.65% at 40,686.07, while the S&P 500 shed 4.04% to 5,441.88 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 5.03% weaker at 16,715.36.

The Dow opened a whopping 1,539.25 points lower on Thursday, more than erasing gains recorded in the previous session ahead of the president's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements.

The White House revealed that it would slap a baseline tariff rate of 10% on all nations, with effect from 5 April, with even bigger duties against countries that levy higher rates on the US set to be put in place in coming days, according to the Trump administration. Trump said the tariffs were a "historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world."

"Reciprocal. That means they do it to us and we do it to them. Very simple. Can't get any simpler than that," said Trump, who branded his tariffs as America's "declaration of economic independence".

He also claimed that both jobs and factories would "come roaring back" and that the tariffs would usher in a "golden age" for the country. "We will supercharge our domestic industrial base, we will pry open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers and ultimately more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers," he said.

However, Trump also stated the tariffs "will be not a full reciprocal. I could have done that, I guess. But it would have been tough for a lot of countries". He said his administration will charge nations "approximately half of what they are and have been charging" the US. He also said the halved figure would include "the combined rate of all their tariffs, nonmonetary barriers and other forms of cheating".

On the macro front, US employers announced 275,240 job cuts in March, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the highest number since May 2020 and the third-highest monthly total ever recorded.

"Job cut announcements were dominated last month by DOGE plans to eliminate positions in the federal government. It would have otherwise been a fairly quiet month for layoffs", said Andrew Challenger. The Government led all sectors in March with 216,215, all of which occurred in the federal government. Over the last two months, DOGE has been attributed to 280,253 layoffs across 27 government agencies.

Elsewhere, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a slower pace in the week ended 29 March, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 219,000 last week, down from the previous week's upwardly revised print of 225,000 and beating expectations for a print of 225,000, while continuing claims rose by 56,000 to 1.90m for the highest reading seen since November 2021. The four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 1,250 week-on-week to 223,000. Unemployment claims filed under programs for Federal government employees fell by 257 to 564. However, reports that many of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency firings were said to have been done with severance packages, preventing employees from claiming benefits immediately after termination.

On another note, the US trade deficit narrowed to $122.7bn in February, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, down from a record high of $130.7bn in January and slightly ahead of forecasts for a $123.5bn shortfall. The goods deficit fell by $8.8bn to $147bn, while the services surplus narrowed by $800.0m to $24.3bn. Exports rose 2.9% to $278.5bn, principally due to non-monetary gold, passenger cars, computer accessories, trucks, buses, and civilian aircraft. Imports, on the other hand, were little changed at $401.1bn after having surged in January due to Donald Trump's upcoming tariffs.

Still on data, S&P Global's services purchasing managers index was upwardly revised to 54.4 in March from a preliminary reading of 54.3, driven by increased customer demand and unseasonably warm weather. However, confidence slipped to its second-lowest level since 2022 on the back of concerns regarding tariffs and federal cost-cutting policies.

Finally, the Institute for Supply Management's services PMI fell sharply in March, dropping to 50.8 from 53.5 in February, well below analysts' expectations of 53 to point to the softest expansion in the services sector since June 2024.

Steve Miller, chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee, said: "There has been a significant increase this month in the number of respondents reporting cost increases due to tariff activity. Despite an increase in comments on tariff impacts and continuing concerns over potential tariffs and declining governmental spending, there was a close balance in near-term sentiment, between panellists with good outlooks and those seeing or expecting declines."

In the corporate space, shares in sportswear giant Nike were down 11% in early trading on the back of tariff headlines, while tech behemoth Apple lost 9%, chipmaker Nvidia shed 5% and Tesla lost another 3.5%.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $72.70 1.92%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $532.58 1.79%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $158.08 1.75%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.47 1.63%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $309.23 1.28%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $171.13 0.96%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $312.95 0.44%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $86.78 0.21%

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.72 -0.44%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $56.50 -13.02%

American Express Co. (AXP) $249.02 -9.53%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $31.88 -8.64%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $514.46 -8.64%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $203.62 -8.06%

Boeing Co. (BA) $157.24 -6.71%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $229.86 -6.49%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $92.07 -5.94%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $315.29 -5.79%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $257.38 -5.22%

S&P 500 - Risers

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $58.80 8.59%

American Tower Corp (Reit) (AMT) $225.45 3.46%

Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $227.60 3.32%

Kroger Co. (KR) $69.38 3.14%

Amer Water Works (AWK) $150.51 2.95%

Crown Castle International (CCI) $106.79 2.87%

McKesson Corp. (MCK) $712.85 2.79%

Cencora Inc (COR) $286.56 2.52%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $62.11 2.28%

Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) $112.04 2.24%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Gap Inc. (GAP) $17.44 -22.07%

VF Corp. (VFC) $12.86 -21.55%

Kohls Corp. (KSS) $6.93 -19.36%

HP Inc (HPQ) $23.11 -17.09%

Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $5.49 -16.74%

Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $63.40 -16.28%

Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $198.38 -16.06%

Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $5.32 -15.56%

Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $12.52 -14.96%

Macy's Inc. (M) $11.40 -13.53%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $266.85 5.63%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $62.11 2.28%

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $130.65 2.01%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $113.43 1.81%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $302.96 1.81%

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.33 1.69%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $309.23 1.28%

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,927.00 1.26%

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $493.48 1.18%

Fastenal Co. (FAST) $77.53 1.02%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.17 -15.63%

Hasbro Inc (HAS) $54.74 -11.08%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $74.50 -10.82%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $74.78 -9.06%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $69.89 -8.43%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $43.60 -8.38%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $79.75 -8.15%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $203.62 -8.06%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $37.31 -7.57%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $156.05 -6.64%