Trump Tariffs Trigger Wall Street Bloodbath, S&P 500 Notches Worst Weekly Drop Since 2020: This Week In Markets

Global markets plunged in the first week of the new quarter after President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on Wednesday—an event he dubbed "Liberation Day."

Trump unveiled a set of retaliatory tariffs with differentiated rates depending on the trading partner. The announcement sparked backlash from analysts, who criticized the methodology and raised fears of retaliation from global trade partners.

China, the country with which the U.S. has the largest trade deficit, was hit with a steep 34% tariff, prompting Beijing to respond with similar countermeasures by the end of the week. The escalation marked the beginning of a new global trade war between the world's two largest economies.

Other key trading partners were also targeted: the European Union faced a 20% tariff, Japan 24%, and India 26%. Canada and Mexico were spared, as long as their exports complied with USMCA provisions.

The surprise severity of the measures sent shockwaves through markets, surpassing even the most pessimistic forecasts. A strong March jobs report offered little reassurance to investors, who remain focused on the looming economic fallout from rising tariffs.

Trillions Of Wealth Evaporates As Stocks Crash

Trillions of dollars in market value were wiped out from Wall Street.

The S&P 500 Index recorded its worst weekly decline since March 2020, when markets were devastated by the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns.

With the S&P 500 plunging 10.5% over Thursday and Friday, this marks only the fourth time such a sharp two-day drawdown has occurred in modern market history—joining October 1987, September 2008, March 2020, and now April 2025.

The Nasdaq 100 plunged more than 20% from its February all-time high, officially entering bear market territory.

Mega-cap tech stocks led the rout, with Apple Inc. AAPL posting its worst two-day drop since October 2008.

Financial stocks also suffered steep losses, with double-digit declines across JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, Citigroup Inc C, Bank of America Corp. BAC, and others.

Oil prices bore the brunt of the sell-off. Crude dropped 10% on the week, hitting a four-year low, pressured by weakening demand expectations and a surprise announcement from OPEC+. The cartel disclosed plans for a larger-than-expected production hike starting in May, raising fears of an oversupply in global energy markets.

On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell failed to soothe market concerns, reiterating "no hurry" on interest rate cuts and highlighting that the new tariffs could fuel inflation.

Meanwhile, Trump continued to publicly pressure the central bank, stating that now is the "perfect time" to lower interest rates.

Also on Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the tariff plan, attributing the roots of the market collapse instead to China's DeepSeek AI breakthrough.

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