Stocks in New York closed on Thursday with significant losses after President Donald Trump announced import tariffs on nearly all US trading partners.
The S&P 500 fell by 4.8 % to end on 5396.52 points, marking its worst day since June 2020. About $2 trillion, some €1,800 billion, in market value was wiped out.
The Dow Jones index dropped 4% to finish at 40,545.93 points, while the tech-focused Nasdaq plummeted 6% to 16,550.61 points.
Analysts warn that Trump’s tariffs could increase the risk of a global recession. In addition to the challenges posed to the highly globalised economy, uncertainty around future trade policies is causing investor anxiety.
Both the European Union and China have vowed to retaliate with their own trade tariffs.
