Trump's 104% Tariff On Chinese Imports Sends Stock Futures Plunging — Dow Falls Over 500 Points

Stock futures tumbled on Tuesday evening as markets braced for President Donald Trump‘s 104% tariff on Chinese imports taking effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, erasing a brief relief rally and sending major indexes to significant lows.

What Happened: S&P 500 futures fell 88.25 points or 1.76% to 4,932, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 581 points or 1.53% to 37,281, and Nasdaq-100 futures saw the steepest decline, plunging 394 points or 2.29% to 16,849.

The sell-off followed Tuesday’s volatile session, where the S&P 500 tracked by SPDR S&P 500 SPY erased a 3.7% intraday gain to close down 1.57% at 4,892, hitting a one-year low. The Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.95% to 17,104 after climbing 4.1% earlier in the day.

“China made a mistake by retaliating, and the president is punching back harder,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday, confirming no delays or exemptions to the tariffs.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is reconsidering its proposed fee on China-linked vessels arriving at U.S. ports after facing strong opposition from industry groups who warned the measure could have devastating economic effects, Reuters reported, citing sources.

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Why It Matters: Tech stocks led the downturn, with Apple Inc. AAPL closing down 4.98%, Tesla Inc. TSLA shedding 4.90%, and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN falling 2.68%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX ended 3.97% lower, reflecting broad risk aversion.

Amid market turmoil, Trump unveiled plans to revive U.S. coal production, directing federal agencies to fast-track mining permits and slash environmental regulations.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned that economic consequences from tariffs may already be materializing, noting concerns that “GDP growth is shrinking.”

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.