Nasdaq 100 Enters Bear Market, Dow In Correction Territory, Traders Await Fed Chair Powell's Remarks

Dip-buying remained absent in early Friday trading in New York, with Wall Street deep in the red as global trade war fears continued to escalate, despite the March jobs report showed continued signs of U.S. labor market resilience.

The U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs in March—the strongest gain since December 2024—sharply beating expectations of 135,000, according to figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Still, the report did little to calm nerves. Investors fear it may be the last strong print for a while, with the economic impact of rising tariffs expected to seep into the data in the coming months.

The unemployment rate ticked up just 0.1 percentage points to 4.2%, remaining low by historical standards, while wage growth broadly aligned with forecasts. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% month-over-month and 3.8% year-over-year.

Wall Street remained deep in the red after China announced a retaliatory 34% tariff on U.S. goods—matching the rate imposed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday—intensifying fears of a full-blown trade war.

Trump took to Truth Social on Friday. "Great job numbers, far better than expected. It's already working. Hang tough, we can't lose!"

He added. "China played it wrong, they panicked," and reassured investors: "This is a great time to get rich—richer than ever before!"

Investors are now on edge, awaiting remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at 11:25 a.m. ET on Friday, hoping for any hint of a dovish shift in policy tone.

Wall Street In Bloodbath: Could Powell Halt The Bleeding?

Here's how the key benchmarks moved at the open:

S&P 500, tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, was down 2.9% by 9:55 a.m. in New York.
Dow Jones Industrial Average, tracked by the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA, fell 2.6%, officially entering correction territory after falling more than 10% from its late-2024 peak.
Nasdaq-100, tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 QQQ, fell 2.9%, hitting a 20% decline from all-time highs, entering a bear market.
Russell 2000, represented by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM, fell 4.1%.

Every sector traded in the red, with heaviest losses concentrated in Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE, down 5%, and Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF, down 4%.

While stocks continued to slump, bonds attracted haven flows. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes fell by 10 basis points to 3.94%. The popular iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT rose 1.5%.