Dow Dips Over 300 Points As US-China Trade Tensions Escalate: Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, Amazon Decline, Greed Index Remains In 'Extreme Fear' Zone

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an increase in the overall fear level, while the index remained in the “Extreme Fear” zone on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks settled lower on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones index falling more than 300 points during the session after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump’s retaliatory 104% tariff on Chinese imports would take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday.

Among the Magnificent Seven, Apple Inc. AAPL turned sharply lower, down 5%, while Tesla Inc. TSLA shed 4.9% and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN slipped 2.6%. Nvidia Corp. NVDA shares also dropped 1.4% during the session.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA on Tuesday reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.

On the economic data front, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index declined 3.3 points to a reading of 97.4 in March, recording its weakest level since October 2024 and down from market estimates of 101.3.

All sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with consumer discretionary, materials, and energy stocks recording the biggest losses on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 320 points to 37,645.59 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 fell 1.57% to 4,982.77, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.15% to 15,267.91 during Tuesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL, The Simply Good Foods Company SMPL, and Constellation Brands, Inc. STZ today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 3.8, the index remained in the “Extreme Fear” zone on Tuesday, versus a prior reading of 4.5.

The Fear & Greed Index is a measure of the current market sentiment. It is based on the premise that higher fear exerts pressure on stock prices, while higher greed has the opposite effect. The index is calculated based on seven equal-weighted indicators. The index ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 represents maximum fear and 100 signals maximum greediness.

Read Next: