U.S. stocks sank Thursday as investors bet that Donald Trump’s drastic tariffs would cause pain in the US economy.
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The S&P 500 fell 3.8%. Nasdaq’s composite fell 4.9% and was dragged down by an 8.5% drop due to index heavyweight apples.
The dollar fell 1.7% against rival baskets.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude oil fell 6.8% at $69.86 a barrel. US benchmark WTI fell 7.1% per barrel to $66.59.
“The collapse is a loss of trust in assets controlled by the general dollar,” said Francesco Pesor, ING’s currency strategist. “It’s a 100-day unconfident vote for Trump.”
Robert Tip, head of PGIM’s Global Bond, said the market is “very satisfied,” but now it’s in “a spiral mode where you trade towards a recession until there is a possible cause to halt.”
The move comes after Trump said 10% collection was applied to almost all US imports from April 5, and dozens of countries, including China, will be subject to further “mutual” tariffs starting April 9.
European stocks also hit Thursday, with the continent-wide Stoxx Europe 600 index down 2.6%, led by a major sale of stocks in export-centric companies.
“The surgery is over! The patient is alive and healing,” Trump wrote Thursday on his true social platform.
“The prognosis is that patients are stronger, bigger, better and more resilient than ever,” he added.
