US stock indices slumped on Friday and marked their biggest two-day drop in history, losing a staggering $11 trillion of value since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, with the NASDAQ entering bearish territory.
China just slapped all US imports with 34% tariffs starting April 10, in response to Trump’s latest tariffs on Chinese imports.
US President Donald Trump announced new historic reciprocal tariffs on many countries, that start with a base 10% and rise by many folds depending on the country.
He described the new tariffs as “a declaration of independence” and today as the “liberation day”.
Otherwise, earlier US data showed the economy added 228 thousand new jobs in March, after adding 117 thousand in February, while unemployment rose to 4.2%.
Speaking in Virginia, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he expects US President Donald Trump’s tariffs to cause higher inflation and slower growth.
He said the announced tariffs were much bigger than expected, and the Fed won’t change its monetary policies until the picture becomes clearer.
At the close, Dow Jones slumped 5.5%, or 2231 points to 38,314 points, marking a weekly loss of 7.9%.
S&P 500 tumbled 5.97%, or 322 points to 5074 points, losing 9.1% of its value this week.
NASDAQ gave up 5.8%, or 963 points to 15,587 points, marking a weekly loss of 10%.
