S&P 500 loses $5tr in two-day sell-off

Markets suffer record losses as trade war escalates, with tech stocks, oil prices, and global indices plunging

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NEW YORK:

Global stock markets extended their recent rout on Friday, with S&P 500 companies wiping out $5 trillion in stock market value since US President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on Wednesday, while investors fled to the safety of government bonds.

The Nasdaq confirmed it was in a bear market, ending more than 20% below its record high close, while oil prices and other commodities plunged.

That $5-trillion loss marked a record two-day decline for the S&P 500 benchmark, exceeding a two-day loss of $3.3 trillion in March 2020 when the pandemic ripped across global markets, according to LSEG data compiled by Reuters.

Responding to Trump's tariffs, China on Friday said it would impose additional levies of 34% on American goods, confirming investor fears that a full-blown global trade war is under way and that the global economy may be at risk of a recession.

Trump slapped a 10% tariff on most US imports and much higher levies on dozens of countries, erecting the steepest trade barriers in more than 100 years.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq has fallen 22.7% from its December 16 record close as investors fled riskier assets on the tariff worries.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and pan-European STOXX 600 index each confirmed they were in a correction.

All three of the major US stock indexes suffered their biggest weekly percentage losses since March 2020, and the Cboe Volatility Index jumped to 45.31, its highest closing level since April 2020. Companies with exposure to China fell across the board, with Apple dropping 7.3%. The chipmakers index sank 7.6%. Bank and energy shares dropped amid the recession fears.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,231.07 points, or 5.50%, to 38,314.86. The index confirmed a correction, finishing more than 10% below its record closing high from December 4.

The S&P 500 fell 322.44 points, or 5.97%, to 5,074.08 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 962.82 points, or 5.82%, to 15,587.79.

The pan-European STOXX index closed 5.1% lower, its biggest daily loss since the COVID-19-fuelled selloff in 2020. The index fell nearly 12% from its March 3 all-time closing high, confirming it was in correction territory.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 43.35 points, or 5.37%, to 764.29, and was set for its biggest weekly percentage drop since 2020. Oil prices plunged about 7% to settle at their lowest in over three years, after the tariff response from China, the world's top oil importer.

Brent crude futures fell 6.5% to settle at $65.58. US crude futures lost 7.4% to settle at $61.99.

Data showing the US economy added far more jobs than expected in March did little to brighten the mood.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks at a business journalists' conference in Arlington, Virginia, that Trump's new tariffs are "larger than expected" and the economic fallout, including higher inflation and slower growth, likely will be as well.

He also said the US central bank does not have a prediction of a downturn in its outlook but he recognised private-sector forecasters are shifting on that front.

Earlier, investment bank JP Morgan said it was forecasting a 60% chance of the global economy entering a recession by year-end, up from 40% previously.

"I think (Powell's) comments will be disappointing for those who believe that the Fed is going to step in anytime soon," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

The US dollar recovered against the euro and yen, with Powell signalling a cautious tone on future easing. The dollar index was last up 0.7% on Friday after its biggest fall since November 2022 on Thursday.

The euro was last down 0.69% at $1.10976, after jumping 1.8% - its biggest daily rise since November 2022 - on Thursday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.58% to 146.9.

After years of huge flows into US stocks and a booming American economy, investors are grappling with where to put their cash.

That helped drive a powerful rush towards government bond markets. The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury note fell 12.2 basis points to 3.933% after falling to a six-month low of 3.86%. Yields move inversely to prices.