Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market experienced a sharp selloff today following President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,500 points, the Nasdaq Composite slumped 6.0%, and the S&P 500 fell 4.8%.

The administration imposed 10% tariffs on global imports, effective April 5. Higher rates were imposed on specific countries, effective April 9, including a 34% tariff on top of the 20% tariff on imports from China. Japan, Vietnam, and India face tariff rates of 24%, 46%, and 26%, respectively. The EU is subject to a 20% rate.

The move escalated fears about an economic slowdown and triggered a slight from risk assets. The small-cap Russell 2000 sank 6.6%, large-cap tech suffered outsized declines, and many discretionary-related industries fell under selling pressure. 

Apple (AAPL 203.19, -20.70, -9.3%) was a significant drag on the broader equity market, along with NVIDIA (NVDA 101.80, -8.62, -7.8%) and other semiconductor shares.

Slowdown worries also translated into lower oil prices due to fears about softening demand. WTI crude plunged back to $67/bbl, contributing to the decline in the energy sector (-7.5%). It was the worst performer, along with technology (-6.9%) and discretionary (-6.5%).

Treasuries surged as stocks slid, resulting in sharply lower rates. The 10-yr yield dropped 14 basis points to 4.06%, and the 2-yr yield dropped 18 basis points to 3.72%.

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Weekly Initial Claims 219K (Briefing.com consensus 224K); Prior was revised to 225K from 224K, Weekly Continuing Claims 1.903 mln; Prior was revised to 1.847 mln from 1.856 mln
  • The key takeaway from the report is that initial claims remained at a relatively low level while continuing claims increased to their highest level since November 2021, suggesting that people are having an increasingly difficult time returning to work.
• February Trade Balance -$122.7 bln (Briefing.com consensus -$121.0 bln); Prior was revised to -$130.7 bln from -$131.4 bln
  • The key takeaway from the report is that while there was some sequential narrowing in the trade deficit, the deficit remained in record territory as front-running of purchases continued ahead of April's implementation of tariffs.
• March S&P Global US Services PMI - Final 54.4; Prior 54.3 from
• March ISM Services 50.8% (Briefing.com consensus 53.2%); Prior 53.5%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that growth in the services sector slowed notably in March with employment contracting for the first time since September.

Market participants receive some potentially market-moving data tomorrow in the form of the March Employment Situation report at 8:30 ET.