Major multinational companies also saw declines. Among them, Nike saw an 11 percent decline, Apple dropped by about 7 percent, Gap was down by 12 percent, Target was down by 9 percent, Amazon declined by more than 6 percent, Five Below dropped by 22 percent, Dollar Tree was down by 9 percent, and HP Inc. dropped by 13 percent.
On the evening of April 2, Trump announced a minimum tariff of 10 percent on imports from all countries into the United States, with the tax rate running much higher on products from certain countries such as China and those from the European Union.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell worldwide. France’s CAC 40 dropped by 3.1 percent, and Germany’s DAX was down by 2.4 percent in Europe. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.8 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down by 1.5 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi dropped by 0.8 percent.
Yields on Treasurys tumbled in part on rising expectations for coming cuts to rates, along with general fear about the health of the U.S. economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.03 percent from 4.20 percent late on April 2 and from roughly 4.80 percent in January. That’s a huge move for the bond market.
A major technology group, the Consumer Technology Association, voiced concern over the tariffs and said it would effectively cause “massive tax hikes” on U.S. consumers that will drive up inflation.
“Large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits have led to the hollowing out of our manufacturing base; resulted in a lack of incentive to increase advanced domestic manufacturing capacity; undermined critical supply chains; and rendered our defense-industrial base dependent on foreign adversaries,” it stated.
China was mentioned multiple times in the statement, with the White House saying that the communist-run country’s “non-market policies and practices have given China global dominance in key manufacturing industries” and have led to reductions in U.S. industry and manufacturing.
“Between 2001 and 2018, these practices contributed to the loss of 3.7 million U.S. jobs due to the growth of the U.S.–China trade deficit, displacing workers and undermining American competitiveness while threatening U.S. economic and national security by increasing our reliance on foreign-controlled supply chains for critical industries as well as everyday goods,” the White House stated.
Amid the jitters around the stock market, Vice President JD Vance appeared on “Fox and Friends” and sought to reassure Americans that it will take some time for the tariffs to be felt by everyday consumers.
In the interview, Vance suggested that short-term pain under Trump’s tariffs would lead to long-term economic health. He said that the tariffs would make it more difficult to send American jobs to other countries.
