Stock futures plunge as investors digest Trump’s tariffs

By John Towfighi, CNN

New York (CNN) — US stocks plunged in after-hours trading Wednesday as investors digested President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs that could escalate a growing trade war and upend the global economy.

Dow futures plummeted more than 1,100 points, or 2.7%. S&P 500 futures sank 3.9%. Futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 plunged 4.7%.

US stocks had closed higher Wednesday afternoon ahead of Trump’s announcement on tariffs, but a selloff began as he unveiled his plan, holding up a chart that depicted how rates would increase for each country.

Key Asian stocks mostly sank shortly after opening on Thursday, hours after the broad-based tariffs were announced. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index tumbled at least 4%. South Korea’s KOSPI plunged 2.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 2.4%. Taiwan’s Taiex was closed for a holiday.

Wall Street had been nervous about Trump’s tariffs, though some analysts expected stocks could rally if the tariff announcement was lighter than feared. Those hopes were quickly dashed as Trump unveiled baseline 10% tariffs on all imports, plus higher rates for specific countries.

“Trump is enacting a very aggressive tariff policy, far more aggressive than most investors thought possible six months ago,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital. “Painful times for stock market investors.”

“While the market was positioned to bounce on a ‘less bad than expected’ tariff announcement, there is no way to spin today’s news as positive for the economy or stock market,” said Ellerbroek.

Apple, Tesla tumble in after-hours trading

The selloff turned into a rout Wednesday evening as investors reckoned with the extent of Trump’s tariffs.

Apple (AAPL) tumbled more than 7% in after-hours trading. The tech giant relies extensively on supply chains in China, which will be subject to steep tariffs.

The other stocks leading markets lower in after-hours trading included Tesla (TSLA), which fell more than 6% and Amazon (AMZN), which fell more than 5%. Nike (NKE) plunged 7% and Walmart (WMT) fell 6%.

“President Trump just finished his tariff speech at the White House and we would characterize this slate of tariffs as ‘worse than the worst case scenario’ the Street was fearing,” said Dan Ives, senior analyst at Wedbush Securities, in a note.

Ives said “the jaw dropper” was Trump slamming hefty reciprocal tariffs on China, bringing its rate to 54%.

As stocks tanked, members of the Trump administration appeared unfazed. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg that a selloff in stocks was “a Mag 7 problem not a MAGA problem,” referring to the “Magnificent Seven” of tech stocks that include Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Google, Tesla and Nvidia.

Economists expect that Trump’s sweeping tariffs could upend global supply chains, stoke inflation and drag on economic growth.

JoAnne Bianco, chief investment strategist at BondBloxx, said the US will continue to experience elevated uncertainty and market volatility as investors assess the “detrimental economic impact” of Trump’s tariffs.

“The roller coaster ride continues as the initial leaks were positive … but then the details were released and they were far worse than expected,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.

“The silver lining for investors could be that this is only a starting point for negotiations with other countries and ultimately tariff rates will come down across the board — but for now traders are shooting first and asking questions later,” said Zaccarelli.

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